Blog: City Blog

HomeSource and City Team Up for Green, Affordable Housing in Lonsdale

What’s yellow and white and green all over?

The answer is, the new house at 1742 Connecticut Ave. in the Lonsdale neighborhood. It was built by HomeSource, the local nonprofit agency previously known as the Knox Housing Partnership. Along with other homes being built by HomeSource, it represents the first affordable housing in the world to be certified under the new LEED v4 guidelines for sustainable construction.

Mayor Madeline Rogero visited the house on Monday and met with HomeSource Chief Operating Officer Chris Osborn and the home’s soon-to-be-owners, Clayton and Lisa Fields. They are set to close on the house next week.

Mayor Rogero and homeowner Lisa Fields

New homeowner Lisa Fields gave Mayor Rogero a tour of the house.

The City of Knoxville’s Community Development Department provided federal housing funds to HomeSource for the project. The house was designed by local architect Beth Eason, who specializes in green construction.

Mayor Rogero and Chris Osborn

Some of the design components that aided in reaching the LEED v4 Homes-Silver level designation include:
• drought tolerant native, non-intrusive grasses and plants used in landscaping, to conserve water consumption;
• ENERGY STAR certification, which provides 30% less energy consumption compared with standard new construction;
• use of local building materials, wood, roofing, concrete products and services in construction, to minimize energy consumed by transportation;
• highly efficient conditioned air filtration system in the houses, to improve indoor air quality;
• ‘very high-efficient’-rated water fixtures, to conserve water and reduce utility bills;
• low VOC paints, adhesives and Green label carpets, to minimize off-gassing and improve indoor air quality; and
• zero-step fully accessible and/or visitable homes design for individuals with mobility requirements.

You can learn more about HomeSource at their web page, and more about LEED v4 certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Posted by On 29 September, 2015 at 2:18 PM