October 29th, 2007

Green Prefab: LEED Platinum Home in St. Louis

Posted by Jessica Jensen

This just in from Jay Swoboda, Project Manager at EcoUrban Homes in St. Louis, Mo (no joke– Missouri)

*****************

I’m guessing your mind doesn’t immediately jump to Missouri when green building is mentioned. Hey, not a problem. But let’s be honest – if every green home came from California, life would be pretty boring. Out here in fly-over country, we’re doing our part – and EcoUrban Homes is one of the leaders in the green prefab movement. At the outset, our company was conceptualized as a means to bring modern prefab homes to St. Louis as a remedy for the countless infill lots that exist in most of the older neighborhoods around the city. It wasn’t long before we realized that the modular process and the aesthetic we aspired to already put us well on our way to building green. At that time (2005), there was not nearly as much buzz around the green movement and, in fact, green builders going green here were considered fringe by a lot of people.

As luck would have it, EcoUrban began to pick up momentum just as green building was becoming a much more mainstream idea. By the time our display home was finished in June, public awareness of green building was really starting to expand and current attitudes in the Midwest, or at least in St. Louis, are really starting to shift towards the reality of more sustainable building processes. We feel well positioned at the front of the green/prefab wave and plan to begin rolling out to other cities this winter.

EcoUrban Homes are:

Green

Our homes employ what we like to call “conventional green” technology to get to a level of efficiency that far surpasses most houses on the market. Using a holistic approach that combines high efficiency heating/cooling with superior insulation, tight construction, and better materials overall, we are proud to offer a house that is 80% more efficient than traditional construction. In fact, the August (hottest month in St. Louis) utility bill at our display home totaled $62 – that, with the temperature set at an average of 74 degrees. EcoUrban homes are so green, in fact, that they have been awarded LEED Platinum certification by the US Green Building Council. Read more about the green features here.

Affordable

Affordability is key. While there are variety of amazing, high-concept green homes out there, the fact is most are inaccessible to the masses. Our thought was that if you really want to push the needle forward green has to be economical for the average homebuyer. Our prices currently reflect that notion. The base price for a simple 1100 square foot, single-story home is $129,000 (excluding land). Our LEED Platinum, two-story 1950 square foot display home is currently available for $279,000 – easily the most affordable LEED Platinum home out there.

Healthy

Health is also an important aspect of a truly green home. To that end, only construction materials and interior finish products with zero or low emissions are utilized in our homes, thus improving indoor air quality. Many current building materials and maintenance products emit toxic gases, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde. These gases can have a detrimental impact on everyday health and productivity. EcoUrban prides itself on using only the highest-quality no VOC paints, caulks and adhesives. Additionally, we specify only healthy, non-chemical interior finishes on all cabinets and countertops and our flooring and carpet products are recycled and/or made from sustainable materials such as bamboo or corn.

At the end of the day, our goal is simple: we want to offer people a healthy, affordable green home with a great design that speaks for itself.

**** Be sure to check out our new green prefab section at Low Impact Living.

Popularity: 2% [?]