As the summer heat creeps into Phoenix, one company is building homes with the hope owners can avoid cranking up the air-conditioning and racking up high electric bills.
Greenroof Development Co. strives to create homes that are good for the environment and for buyers’ wallets with a focus on moderately priced residential units near downtown Phoenix. The first project, PRD 845, is at Eighth Avenue and Roosevelt Street, and is nearing completion, with 10 of its 12 units sold. The second, Viridian, will break ground this summer just across the street, with completion of its 42 condos expected in fall 2008. Prices will range from about $300,000 to $350,000.
PRD 845 is a menagerie of environmentally friendly goodies. The exteriors of the warehouse-style buildings are slathered in a layer of corrugated fiber cement board, which helps deflect heat and moisture. The dual-paned windows face the north and south, so that direct sunlight doesn’t bombard the inside. These features help keep homes cooler and cut down on the need for air-conditioning, company officials said. Outside, the landscaping contains only native desert plants, which use much less water than Phoenix’s ubiquitous palm trees.
The Viridian project will have its own communal 10-kilowatt solar panel and individual homeowners can tap into that power source directly through upgrades to their units.
Greenroof offers these amenities to help conserve energy and water in an era when global warming threatens the planet, said Jenny Kramer, one of the developer’s principals.
"The desert is a really fragile ecosystem," Kramer said. "Phoenix is growing so much. We need to consider the lifestyle choices we’re making today to plan for the future."
For this same reason, buyers are slowly turning toward green homes as a way to do their part in helping the environment, said Daniel Glenn, director of the Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family at Arizona State University.
Grayson Steinberg
May. 26, 2007 12:00 AM
Article can be found at: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0526biz-phx-greenhomes0526.html
