LITTLETON, CO — (Marketwire) — 08/17/11 — Alta Aspen Grove is the first market-rate apartment community of stick-frame construction to be certified under LEED for Homes in Colorado, developer Wood Partners announced today.
The LEED silver certification will be presented to Wood Partners Director Tim McEntee by Deb Kleinman, executive director of U.S. Green Building Council Colorado during a ceremony Aug. 18 at the community–s clubhouse, 7317 South Platte River Parkway.
Littleton Mayor Doug Clark and City Council Members Peggy Cole, Bruce Stahlman and Jim Taylor also will attend.
“Alta Aspen Grove is a solid example of leadership in our all-important apartment sector. While many developers are choosing traditional, low-cost building methods, Wood Partners chose to build Alta Aspen Grove so its residents could enjoy all of the benefits — lower utility bills, a healthy indoor environment, access to local transit and services — of living in a green home,” said Nate Kredich, vice president, residential market development for the U.S. Green Building Council.
“What–s more, Alta Aspen Grove will educate countless future and prospective residents on how we can live our lives more sustainably.”
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2000 to provide a framework for certifying green building practices promoting sustainable building and development practices.
LEED for Homes is a relatively new rating system specifically designed for residential buildings under seven stories — as opposed to LEED NC, which applies to commercial and high-rise structures — and Alta Aspen Grove is the first apartment community in the state to qualify under the LEED for Homes rating system.
“Wood Partners has been focused on Building Green almost since its inception in 1997. We have pursued and attained LEED certification for several of our high-rise developments, but Alta Aspen Grove will be our first wood-frame construction community to be LEED-certified,” McEntee said.
“The additional capital investment — which was over $2,000 per unit — was supported by our equity partner upfront and HUD also was very excited about the upgrade. We feel this type of product advancement will be the standard in years to come and will give us a competitive advantage today, in addition to being environmentally more friendly and in line with our companies goal of attaining at a minimum ENERGY STAR® on all new developments.”
Genevieve Anton
Anton Communications
714-544-6503