Jeff Carter, from Creative Panels, participated with the Housing Authority Staff in the design coordination of this house. During the construction, Creative Panels supplied the SIP products and provided job site consulting for the proper application of these SIP products.
Read the Fresno Bee Newspaper article, by Sanford Nax, below to get the full scoop:
The buyer of a new house on Lotus Avenue in southwest Fresno will get a property loaded with energy-saving features.
The Community Housing Partnership Program unveiled the "green home" on Wednesday as a pilot project to study whether an environmentally friendly house can still be affordable to low- and moderate-income families.
"This was a prototype," said Kathleen Paley, assistant executive director of the Housing Authorities of the City and County of Fresno. "Depending upon the economics of it, we want to incorporate as many [green features] as we can going forward on other infill homes."
The 1,681-square-foot, four-bedroom, two-bathroom house at 2254 S. Lotus Ave. is the latest green home to be built by government or nonprofits in Fresno and the central San Joaquin Valley. Habitat for Humanity and the city of Fresno are among others who have built similar homes.
But Paley said this is the first environmentally friendly house from the housing partnership program, which is a collaboration of the Housing Authorities and the Fresno Redevelopment Agency.
The plan is to sell the home to a low-income family who will receive the benefits of the energy-saving features, which include a solar energy system and insulated panels.
The family should save $100 to $150 per month in energy costs, said Marlene Murphey, executive director of the Redevelopment Agency.
Features include the solar energy system; high-performance dual-pane windows; exterior walls and flooring made of structural insulated panels; low-flow shower heads, faucets and toilets; drought-resistant landscaping; hypo-allergenic wool carpeting; and recycled ceramic tile in the kitchen and bathroom.
"This is an amazing house to see," Murphey said.
Whether the partnership can afford to include all the features in future houses remains to be seen. The partnership bought the lot from the Fresno County Tax Collector for only $22,000, which helped contribute to the fairly low price of $259,900.
Paley said the partnership should break even on the house, but making a profit was not the goal, she said.
"The reality is that prices will come down as these types of features become more mainstream," she said.
Realty Concepts agent Don Scordino is the agent selling the property.
"I'm most impressed by the thickness of the exterior walls packed with insulation. It is a sound and sturdy home," he said.
"They built the house with a lot of recycled goods, so it is not only good for the homeowners, it is good for the environment."