TORONTO, ON - The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the recipients of the 2011 LEED for Homes Awards, recognizing projects, developers and home builders who have demonstrated leadership in the residential building marketplace. The awards were presented during the Residential Summit during the 2011 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo held earlier this month  in Toronto.

The 2011 Project of the Year award was given to The GO Home in Belfast, ME, built by GO Logic. With a small but smart footprint of 1,500 square feet, the three-bedroom LEED Platinum residence uses minimal energy and was built at construction costs comparable to a building a standard home. The project will be replicated across a 36-home community in Maine.

Power Haus, built by Josh Wynne Construction, received the award for Outstanding Single Family Project. Passive ventilation, cooling and lighting, coupled with cutting-edge technologies earned the Sarasota, FL-based home the lowest Home Energy Rating System (HERS) score on record in the U.S.

KB Home's Primera Terra residential community located in Playa Vista, CA, was recognized in the Multi Family category. Special attention was given to optimizing the 52-unit building's envelope in order to maximize performance. 

ActiveWest Builders was recognized in the Production Builder category for its Meadow Ranch Development in Coeur d'Alene, ID. ActiveWest Builders designed the project with an aging population in mind, as it was developed to meet the changing needs of active adults looking to downsize but maintain homeownership.

The LEED Platinum Juneberry Lane project, developed by Clackamas Community Land Trust, received the Outstanding Affordable Housing Project award. The project, built on a high density infill property, consists of 12 subdivisions of six duplexes and provided permanently affordable homes for families with modest incomes in Oregon City, OR.

Affordable housing developer New Hope Housing of Houston, TX, was recognized for developing safe and affordable single room occupancy (SRO) housing for adults with limited incomes. Since their founding in 1993, New Hope Housing has developed 634 SRO units in the local area, each improving the local community aesthetically, enhancing the health and safety of an often marginalized population, and spurring additional development. 

The award for Outstanding Program Commitment was given to the Habitat for Humanity of Kent County. The Grand Rapids, MI-based branch of the housing organization committed to LEED certification for all of its new and gut-rehab projects. Since 2007, that has meant LEED certification of 70 projects, with an additional 90 in the pipeline as registered projects.