Balfour Beatty Communities, LLC, a leading provider of property management, development and related real estate services for the multifamily, military, and student housing markets, has been named one of Home Innovation Research Labs’ Green Partners of Excellence for 2012-2013.
The award recognizes the company’s new housing developments at the U.S. Army’s Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, which are being built to meet the National Green Building Standard’s (NGBS) Emerald certification—their highest level of green building performance.
“This award demonstrates the commitment Balfour Beatty Communities has made to HI Greenpartner Bannerlogorgb Small 1 developing sustainable communities that meet the highest standards of efficiency, durability, comfort and value,” said Tabitha Crawford, SVP Sustainability and Innovation for Balfour Beatty Communities. “We are very proud of our Fort Bliss team and all of the efforts they've made to support the U.S. Army in reaching their Net Zero sustainability goals, including the delivery of these NGBS Green Certified homes.”
“We recognize it takes a lot for a company to persevere in a certification program as rigorous as ours,” said Home Innovation Labs president and CEO Michael Luzier. “We are truly impressed and inspired by what companies like Balfour Beatty Communities are achieving in the field and the market transformation they are helping to accomplish.”
Balfour Beatty Communities, through a joint venture with the Department of the Army, is currently building 250 military family homes at Fort Bliss that will be NGBS Green Certified by Home Innovation Research Labs to the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard. These homes are in the top 1% of energy efficient homes and include energy and resource-conserving features such as a hybrid water heaters, triple pane low-e windows, blow-in insulation, water efficient toilets and energy efficient appliances. In addition, up to 13.2 megawatts of solar panels are expected to be installed throughout on-base family housing at Fort Bliss to offset more than 25% of the residential energy consumption.
To earn certification to the National Green Building Standard, a home must meet rigorous criteria in six categories – Lot & Site Development; Resource Efficiency; Energy Efficiency; Water Efficiency; Indoor Environmental Quality; and Homeowner Education. The National Green Building Standard is the first and only residential green building rating system to be approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). For more information on the NGBS or the Home Innovation NGBS Green Certification Program, visit www.HomeInnovation.com/Green.