Washington, DC - The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Habitat for Humanity Lake County, and Bank of America, have teamed up on this year’s Greenbuild Legacy Project. Two affordable green homes will be built in Lake County, Ill. funded by a $125,000 donation from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. The construction of which will coincide with USGBC’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Chicago, November 16-19, 2010. Each year, the Greenbuild Legacy Project Committee selects a project to give to its host city as a symbol of our gratitude for hosting Greenbuild and to share with that region the benefits of green building.
Habitat for Humanity has been very successful in providing affordable housing to families they determine can handle the financial and maintenance obligations of the new homes they build. The anticipated energy and maintenance costs of ownership figure prominently in qualifying potential future homeowners. This project is designed to demonstrate, through the cooperative effort of various local consultants, product manufacturers, and volunteers, the idea of green, affordable housing. A network of volunteers from USGBC, Bank of America Community Volunteers and Habitat for Humanity will work alongside the families to complete the construction of the two homes.
“Because of Bank of America’s generous funding and Habitat for Humanity’s volunteers who will build two LEED Platinum homes for the 2010 Greenbuild Legacy Project, two families can rest assured that their homes are not only affordable, but are built with high-performance, energy and resource efficiency and quality of health in mind, thereby ensuring they continue to save money over the life cycle of the home,” said Kimberly Lewis, Vice President of Conferences and Events, USGBC. “Greenbuild attendees will have the exclusive advantage of witnessing much of the construction, providing not only a learning opportunity for building and design professionals, but also to educate on the importance of making affordable homes synonymous with green homes.”
“Bank of America is proud to partner with the U.S. Green Building Council and Habitat for Humanity Lake County to build affordable green homes that will dramatically impact the lives of two families in Waukegan,” said Tim Maloney, Illinois and Chicago market president, Bank of America. “The green attributes of these homes will not only help the environment, but also benefit the families that will live in them through reduced energy and utility bills, as well as an overall improved quality of life.”
Both homes will have the same floor plan and appearance but will be built using two different construction methods. The Greenbuild Legacy Home project will feature state of the art ICF and panelized construction, while the second home, targeted for 75% competition by Greenbuild, will be built using conventional stick construction as an opportunity for Greenbuild attendees to view its construction process. Currently both homes are aiming to achieve LEED for Homes Platinum certification. Construction cost data and performance will be tracked and published for both homes once both are complete. USGBC’s commitment to affordable green housing extends beyond Greenbuild, as fully 40% of the homes in the LEED for Homes program are affordable.
“Both Bank of America and the U.S. Green Building Council are leaders in providing innovative solutions to affordable housing needs. Through their support we will provide additional homes for low-income families,” said Julie Donovan, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity Lake County. “In addition, we will set the stage for future energy-efficient building through the experience and knowledge we gain during this build. We appreciate the exceptional support from both Bank of America and the US Green Building Council.”
U.S. Green Building Council
The USGBC community is transforming the way we build, design and operate our buildings for healthier places that save precious resources for people to live, work, learn and play in. UGSBC is helping create buildings and communities that regenerate and sustain the health and vitality of all life within a generation. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Council is the driving force of the green building industry, which is projected to contribute $554 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product by 2013. USGBC leads a diverse constituency of builders and environmentalists, corporations and nonprofit organizations, elected officials, concerned citizens, teachers and students. The USGBC community comprises 80 local chapters, 17,000 member companies and organizations, and more than 150,000 individuals who have earned LEED Professional Credentials.
About Greenbuild
The U.S. Green Building Council’s Annual Greenbuild Conference & Expo provides an unrivaled opportunity to learn about the latest innovations, explore new products and exchange ideas with other professionals. Greenbuild is the world’s largest green building conference and represents all sectors of the green building movement. Three days of extensive educational programming, workshops, a vast exhibition floor and ample networking events provide unrivaled opportunities to learn about the latest technological innovations, explore new products, and exchange ideas with other professionals. Greenbuild is the three time recipient of IMEX Green Meetings Award and four time winner of Tradeshow Week’s Fastest 50 growing tradeshows in the U.S. The 2010 show will be held on Nov. 17-19, 2010, in Chicago, Illinois with 40,000 expected attendees and nearly 2,000 exhibit booths.
About the U.S. Green Building Council - Illinois Chapter
Formerly the Chicago Chapter, the USGBC - Illinois Chapter was renamed to better reflect the Chapter’s work throughout the state. The U.S. Green Building Council – Illinois Chapter’s nearly 1,500 members represent the entire spectrum of Illinois’ green building community, from real estate professionals, architects, engineers, designers and trade associations to contractors, product manufacturers, state and local government officials, homebuilders and homeowners. The Illinois Chapter furthers the work of USGBC through over 150 annual programs, events, education and research initiatives, advocacy campaigns, and resources throughout its network of seven local branches: Chicago, Central Illinois, Fox Valley, North/Northwest Suburban, Rockford/Northern Illinois, South Suburban, West Suburban.
About Habitat for Humanity Lake County
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing worldwide. Habitat is not a give-away program. It works from a self-help model building simple, decent and affordable homes in partnership with people in need. The Partner Families purchase their houses at no profit with no-interest mortgages. In addition they invest 500 hours of their own labor on the construction of their home and other Habitat needs. Since 1989 Habitat for Humanity Lake County has built 130 homes. This year HFHLC plans to build another 11 homes.
Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy
Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, last year Bank of America embarked on a ten-year goal to donate $2 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the health and vitality of their neighborhoods. Bank of America approaches giving through a national strategy called “neighborhood excellence” under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Bank associate volunteers contributed more than 800,000 hours in 2009 to enhance the quality of life in their communities nationwide.
Source: U.S. Green Building Council
Habitat for Humanity has been very successful in providing affordable housing to families they determine can handle the financial and maintenance obligations of the new homes they build. The anticipated energy and maintenance costs of ownership figure prominently in qualifying potential future homeowners. This project is designed to demonstrate, through the cooperative effort of various local consultants, product manufacturers, and volunteers, the idea of green, affordable housing. A network of volunteers from USGBC, Bank of America Community Volunteers and Habitat for Humanity will work alongside the families to complete the construction of the two homes.
“Because of Bank of America’s generous funding and Habitat for Humanity’s volunteers who will build two LEED Platinum homes for the 2010 Greenbuild Legacy Project, two families can rest assured that their homes are not only affordable, but are built with high-performance, energy and resource efficiency and quality of health in mind, thereby ensuring they continue to save money over the life cycle of the home,” said Kimberly Lewis, Vice President of Conferences and Events, USGBC. “Greenbuild attendees will have the exclusive advantage of witnessing much of the construction, providing not only a learning opportunity for building and design professionals, but also to educate on the importance of making affordable homes synonymous with green homes.”
“Bank of America is proud to partner with the U.S. Green Building Council and Habitat for Humanity Lake County to build affordable green homes that will dramatically impact the lives of two families in Waukegan,” said Tim Maloney, Illinois and Chicago market president, Bank of America. “The green attributes of these homes will not only help the environment, but also benefit the families that will live in them through reduced energy and utility bills, as well as an overall improved quality of life.”
Both homes will have the same floor plan and appearance but will be built using two different construction methods. The Greenbuild Legacy Home project will feature state of the art ICF and panelized construction, while the second home, targeted for 75% competition by Greenbuild, will be built using conventional stick construction as an opportunity for Greenbuild attendees to view its construction process. Currently both homes are aiming to achieve LEED for Homes Platinum certification. Construction cost data and performance will be tracked and published for both homes once both are complete. USGBC’s commitment to affordable green housing extends beyond Greenbuild, as fully 40% of the homes in the LEED for Homes program are affordable.
“Both Bank of America and the U.S. Green Building Council are leaders in providing innovative solutions to affordable housing needs. Through their support we will provide additional homes for low-income families,” said Julie Donovan, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity Lake County. “In addition, we will set the stage for future energy-efficient building through the experience and knowledge we gain during this build. We appreciate the exceptional support from both Bank of America and the US Green Building Council.”
U.S. Green Building Council
The USGBC community is transforming the way we build, design and operate our buildings for healthier places that save precious resources for people to live, work, learn and play in. UGSBC is helping create buildings and communities that regenerate and sustain the health and vitality of all life within a generation. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Council is the driving force of the green building industry, which is projected to contribute $554 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product by 2013. USGBC leads a diverse constituency of builders and environmentalists, corporations and nonprofit organizations, elected officials, concerned citizens, teachers and students. The USGBC community comprises 80 local chapters, 17,000 member companies and organizations, and more than 150,000 individuals who have earned LEED Professional Credentials.
About Greenbuild
The U.S. Green Building Council’s Annual Greenbuild Conference & Expo provides an unrivaled opportunity to learn about the latest innovations, explore new products and exchange ideas with other professionals. Greenbuild is the world’s largest green building conference and represents all sectors of the green building movement. Three days of extensive educational programming, workshops, a vast exhibition floor and ample networking events provide unrivaled opportunities to learn about the latest technological innovations, explore new products, and exchange ideas with other professionals. Greenbuild is the three time recipient of IMEX Green Meetings Award and four time winner of Tradeshow Week’s Fastest 50 growing tradeshows in the U.S. The 2010 show will be held on Nov. 17-19, 2010, in Chicago, Illinois with 40,000 expected attendees and nearly 2,000 exhibit booths.
About the U.S. Green Building Council - Illinois Chapter
Formerly the Chicago Chapter, the USGBC - Illinois Chapter was renamed to better reflect the Chapter’s work throughout the state. The U.S. Green Building Council – Illinois Chapter’s nearly 1,500 members represent the entire spectrum of Illinois’ green building community, from real estate professionals, architects, engineers, designers and trade associations to contractors, product manufacturers, state and local government officials, homebuilders and homeowners. The Illinois Chapter furthers the work of USGBC through over 150 annual programs, events, education and research initiatives, advocacy campaigns, and resources throughout its network of seven local branches: Chicago, Central Illinois, Fox Valley, North/Northwest Suburban, Rockford/Northern Illinois, South Suburban, West Suburban.
About Habitat for Humanity Lake County
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing worldwide. Habitat is not a give-away program. It works from a self-help model building simple, decent and affordable homes in partnership with people in need. The Partner Families purchase their houses at no profit with no-interest mortgages. In addition they invest 500 hours of their own labor on the construction of their home and other Habitat needs. Since 1989 Habitat for Humanity Lake County has built 130 homes. This year HFHLC plans to build another 11 homes.
Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy
Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, last year Bank of America embarked on a ten-year goal to donate $2 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the health and vitality of their neighborhoods. Bank of America approaches giving through a national strategy called “neighborhood excellence” under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Bank associate volunteers contributed more than 800,000 hours in 2009 to enhance the quality of life in their communities nationwide.
Source: U.S. Green Building Council
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