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Designing homes outside the box: LEED certification means Madison Street houses meet high environmental standards

By: Jason Reynolds
(Contact)

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Three houses under construction on Madison Street will feature the LEED for Homes certification, meaning they will conserve energy and water and will cut construction waste. Two of the homes are for sale. Three additional homes will feature the EarthCraft House certification.

DEVELOPMENT PROFILE

* Name: Madison Street

* Location: Madison Street in Jefferson Heights area of Southside, downtown Chattanooga

* Developer: Christian Rushing

Staff Photo by Shane McMillan Exterior carpenter Jay Blaylock trims a larch board Tuesday to be placed on the back steps of a new LEED certified home under construction on Madison Street in the Jefferson Heights neighborhood of Chattanooga. The new homes are made of recycled materials and are constructed to be environmentally friendly.

* What it is: Christian Rushing is the developer of Madison Street, an infill development in an existing neighborhood called Jefferson Heights. Collier Construction is building Mr. Rushing’s three environmentally friendly homes, and another builder team is building an additional three homes. Construction on the first three homes will be finished by Nov. 1. The next three homes should follow in several weeks.

* Prices: Two homes under construction are for sale. One is $242,500, and the other is $249,500. Mr. Rushing and his family plan to live in the third house that he’s building. The houses are approximately 1,500 square feet large.

* Contact: Mr. Rushing, 364-2817

DEVELOPMENT FEATURES

* LEED leader: Mr. Rushing said his three homes will be the first completed residences in Chattanooga built to the LEED for Homes standard (others have been planned). LEED certification means homes must meet requirements for energy performance, water savings and reduced waste from construction, and must be verified by a third party inspector. Benefits include lower energy and water bills; reduced greenhouse gas emissions; and reduced exposure to mold, mildew and other indoor toxins.

* Award: Last month Madison Street won the Green Development of the Year award for 2008 from the Tennessee Chapter of the American Planning Association.

* Examples of home features: Drought-tolerant landscaping; rainwater collection system will send collected rainwater to wells to supply trees with water; native ground cover; shared driveways will be made of a permeable concrete and gravel system that will absorb rain; and excess drywall, which is a base, is being chopped up and used as mulch, which will offset the yards’ acidic soil, Mr. Rushing said.

* Unique look: The homes have a distinctive look. The V-shape roofs are called single-pitch or a shed roof, which are meant to resemble warehouses in the Southside, Mr. Rushing said. Metal shingles on the sides are made from 100 percent recycled materials, and once they wear out, they can be recycled. The shingles also serve as sun reflectors to cool the house.

* Other homes: Gary Anderson and Boyd Steel are building the other three homes, Mr. Rushing said, and are seeking the EarthCraft House certification, another green building program. The neighborhood has a number of existing EarthCraft homes as well as others under construction.

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