Affordable and green on Asheville's Clingman-Ave prospect terrace eco-homes.

Developer:. Mountain Housing Opportunities

Architect: Mathews Architecture PA

Builder: Carolina Cornerstone Construction Company

Price Tag: $95,000 to $150,000

Square Feet: 715 to 1500

Construction Type: Frame

A long the Clingman Avenue corridor between downtown Asheville and the French Broad River, you'll find something unique. You'll see a development with windows, doors, driveways, children playing in the yard. But Prospect Terrace is something new and green for Asheville. This development of cottage homes and condominiums has demonstrated a variety of building techniques, systems, and materials that will reduce energy use and the impact of development on our natural resources. Of the 17 homes, eleven have been sold to working families and individuals with incomes below eighty percent of our Area Median Income. For a family of two, that's $31,000 and for a family of four, $39,000. With land prices in Asheville rising to meet the demand of wealthy retirees and second homeowners, families and individuals that work and live in Asheville are finding that homeownership is becoming harder to achieve. Prospect Terrace provides families and individuals with homeownership opportunities that they could not otherwise afford. This moderately dense development has approximately twelve units per acre within walking distance of downtown. The density is balanced by a "pocket park" that was developed on adjacent property. The park acts as the front yard for these homes and as an amenity for the entire neighborhood. Owens-Bell Park also includes a storm water wetland demonstration site that will be used for education and research by the State Water Quality Group.

As a nonprofit affordable housing developer, providing homeownership opportunities to Asheville's work force, Mountain Housing Opportunities began to not only look at the upfront cost of their homes but also the long term maintenance and utility costs for owners living in their homes. Their main goals in "greening" up their homes were to lower the energy and maintenance costs for and create healthier and more sustainable environments for our homebuyers and the community, and to follow responsible development practices.

MHO has partnered with the Green Building Council and the NC Solar Center to demonstrate the use of green building techniques, systems, and materials in Prospect Terrace. By using green building materials instead of standard construction techniques and materials, their cost increased about $8,000 per home. MHO was fortunate in this pilot development to have received grant funds from the State Energy Office and the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency to assist in paying for this increase. Prospect Terrace will represent the first certified housing development under the newly developed NC HealthyBuilt Homes Program. And by helping to pilot the NC HealthyBuilt Homes Program, these homes go a step further than Energy Star Certification (focused on energy consumption) by increasing the use of sustainable materials and focusing on indoor air quality.

Families or individuals that have purchased a HealthyBuilt Home in Prospect Terrace will save not only on their electric bill because their home is an Energy Star home, but will also save on maintenance because of the choices in durable siding, decking, and roofing materials. They will save on water bills with low flow faucets and rainbarrels. They will breathe healthier air because of the fresh air circulation in the heating and cooling system and in the use of less toxic paints and flooring products.

Mountain Housing Opportunities (MHO) is a private nonprofit community development corporation serving Asheville and Buncombe County. Their Mission is to Build and Improve Homes, Neighborhoods, Communities ... Lives. Since 1988 MHO has assisted over 2,400 families through Homeownership, Home Rehabilitation, Rental Investments, and Emergency Home Repair. For more information please contact MikeVance at [e-mail].

What is an Energy Star home?

To qualify as an Energy Star Home, a house must be at least 30% more energy efficient than homes built to the 1993 national Model Energy Code or 15% more efficient than state energy code, whichever is more rigorous. This energy efficiency is based on heating, cooling, and hot water energy use and is achieved through a combination of tightly sealed building envelopes, high performance windows, controlled air infiltration, heating and air conditioning systems, tight duct systems, and water-heating equipment. These homes also have energy-efficient lighting and appliances.

Top Green Points:

Credentials: First certified HealthyBuilt Homes housing development.

Efficiency: Energy Star appliances, florescent bulbs, high efficiency water heaters, fifty year shingles, low flow faucets and showerheads, sealed crawl spaces, cellulose and icynene insulation, solar preheat for hot water

Low Toxicity: Low VOC paints, Marmoleum sheet flooring, fly ash concrete mixture

Environmental: Recycled content carpeting, Trex decking for decks/parches