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Monday, February 9, 2009

One of These Things is Not Like the Other....

A reader commented on a previous blog entry:

I have driven by this Subdivision several times and the homes look like any other homes in Gainesville. What is the difference between these homes and the other Subdivisions surrounding it? Is the difference inside the walls?
Then, later, she asked:

After driving by this subdivision several times, what is the deal with your signs up front? First LEED Community in Alachua? can you explain what this means to me as a consumer?
These are great questions.....

First of all, I am going to disagree. I don't think these homes look like any other home in Gainesville - they are like homes you may find in some of the other New Urbanist developments, but they are not what you find in a typical subdivision. Obvious differences include the height off the ground (provides privacy in houses that are close to the street), higher end windows that have depth and add contour to the house (rather than the flat windows you typically see), high level design with attention to proportion and scale (these houses were designed by an architect, not a builder, with an eye towards the entire picture of the neighbhorhood and how the houses fit together), classic design details versus trendy home finishes, lack of garages on the front (garages are located off the alley behind the house), and a neighborhood planned to fit into the urban community.

Secondly, I will agree that yes, there are many differences behind the walls. The houses were planned for efficient use of wood and other materials to reduce waste -- walls use "pre-cut" lengths of wood, as well as full sheets of OSB siding materials. This not only saves money during construction, but prevents our landfills from filling up with needless waste -- did you know that 10% of the material ordered to build a house is wasted? That is a lot of garbage in our landfills, a lot of needless transportation costs, and a lot of expense in our pockets. The houses were carefully insulated and sealed -- insulation was inspected by a third party energy consulant to make sure that nothing was missed (such as behind the bathtub) and that the insulation met not just Energy Star, but the highest Energy Star standards. All houses are also prewired to be a "Smart House" and fiber optic cable is run to each house, giving these houses some of the fastest internet speeds in the country. Why is that environmental you may ask? If you can stay home and work effectively, then that is one less car on the road. Other items that are included in some of the houses include insulated hot water pipes, built in vacuums, and products treated with non-toxic chemicals to resist pests and fire.

Finally, LEED certification - what is that? The US Green Building Council, which manages the LEED programs states:

LEED is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance.

There are other green building programs out there -- the better known ones in this area include programs by the Florida Green Building Coalition and the National Association of Home Builders. LEED stands out as the program that these newer programs are measured against. The USGBC, through the LEED program, not only certifies homes through the LEED for Homes program but they certify commercial and office buildings, hospitals, schools and government buildings. And, if you did not know already, the University of Florida requires all of it's buildings to be LEED certified. There is an up front cost to this certification, but there are lasting savings in energy, health care, quality of life and carbon footprint cost.

So what do those signs mean to a buyer? It means the this developer and these builders picked the most stringent and most carefully documented green program available. It means that they followed the rules, tracked the materials and waste, carefully chose their materials and paid for third party certification. It means that not just a builder built your house, but an architect, a green consultant, an engineer, a landscape architect, and an energy expert. And that benefits you because you, as a homeowner, would have a copy of all of this documentation, all of the warranties and information, and access to these experts if you have questions. What does this sign mean? It means that the builder did a "good job" -- and you do not have to take their word for it. They can prove it.


4 comments:

  1. Wow but $489,000 for a 2952 square foot home is a lot of money! Maronda Homes is selling new homes in Newberry and for $212,990 you can get a 3004 square foot home with 4 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths.

    Their homes even have the built in sprinkler systems, block construction, and from what a local inspector told me, top quality construction. I don't mind the extra 15 minute drive to Gainesville to get a good new home for half the price!

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  2. You raise a lot of good points but obviously when someone is considering purchasing a house, price is just one of many factors. As the Founder of Brytan, we made many decisions in order to make not only the homes but the community a great place to live. That being said, Brytan will have homes in a range of prices but these homes will likely never be at the lowest end of the price spectrum. To address your points, yes the price of the home you referenced in Brytan is more expensive than the Maronda home, however, there are features of the Brytan home that those and other homes may not have. First, the specific Brytan home you referenced has a separate garage apartment complete with its own kitchen and bath that can be rented out or that can be used by another family member. The income stream from the rental could cover the costs of the property taxes each year! Also, all the homes in Brytan are required to be LEED-certified by an independent and accredited third party. That means that even during the construction process, sustainable practices were employed. Secondly, you must consider location. If you work in Newberry, then the home you are comparing the Brytan home to may be a perfect fit. But, if you work at the University of Florida or Shands, you will be commuting each day. The distance may not seem significant but you will be traveling east into the sun on the trip in and traveling west each afternoon, again into the direct sun. Traffic on Newberry Road can be extremely busy so you may want to drive the road during those times you will be traveling. Also, Brytan is located on a bus route so the option to not have to drive your car is available. Third, Brytan is located close to Publix and restaurants…you don’t have to get into a car each time you want to do something outside the home. Brytan lots may be smaller in size but that also means lower yard maintenance costs. Water is going to continue to be more expensive and it will be more and more costly to water yards. Finally, each home in Brytan is custom-built. Homes are not built in an assembly line fashion but rather individually and each with unique features. Curb appeal is important that is why garages are located at the back of the house and are entered off of an alleyway. In Brytan, you don’t see the front door and a big garage door when facing the front of the house. Buying a home is an important decision and one needs to consider every aspect from the building and design of the home to the building and design of the community where the home is located. We believe Brytan offers homeowners the opportunity to buy homes that will hold value not only today but also in the future.

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  3. I have a response to the reader's comment above calculating the "cost" of 15 minutes in the car every day. Check it out on my blog for The Sustainable Design Group: http://sustainabledesigngroup.blogspot.com/.

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  4. I am tired of seeing "cookie cutter" homes. It is nice to see the front porches that are large enough to actually put a chair on and that are on the front of the house. We had one on our house growing up and it was where we tended to hang out. I like the style of the homes in Brytan.

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