Brasada Ranch Named Community of the Year in Builder Magazine.

Central Oregon Development Cited for Sustainable Building, Preserving Open Space

POWELL BUTTE, Ore. -- Brasada Ranch, a luxurious golf and outdoor recreation community nestled in the scenic high desert of Central Oregon, is proving that green building can be simply gorgeous.

For the ingenuity of salvaging wood from an old lumber mill and the foresight to set aside half of its land as open space, Brasada Ranch has won major national recognition. The development was named Community of the Year by Builder, the magazine of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), in the October issue.

Brasada Ranch is no stranger to national honors. It is the first destination resort in Oregon and the fourth nationally to receive a gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). This prestigious LEED certification was given to Brasada Ranch's centerpiece structure, the 8,300-square-foot Discovery Center, as well as four other core community buildings also designed to LEED silver and gold standards.

"The Discovery Center is just one example of sustainable development at Brasada Ranch," said Ken Cates, vice president of sales and marketing for JELD-WEN Communities. "Our core value of treading lightly on the land guided all our decisions, from diverting 75 percent of our construction site waste away from landfills to selecting 100-percent recycled roof shingles."

Brasada Ranch's Discovery Center was built from 300,000 board feet of reclaimed wood from the nearby Ochoco lumber mill, which was purchased and carefully cataloged by the ranch's parent company, JELD-WEN Communities. Artifacts from the 75-year-old mill are integrated into the center's decor, along with lava rock and native material featured in the stonework. In addition, the entrance to Brasada Ranch is framed by a refurbished trestle bridge that once served as an irrigation flume.

"From a design standpoint, these materials provided an instant patina that contrasts nicely with contemporary features such as skylights and board form concrete," project architect Richard Carr told Builder. Carr is the principal of Cottle Carr Yaw (CCY) Architects of Boulder, Colo.

Some of the sustainable building features are literally hidden beneath the surface. The core community buildings are heated and cooled by a high-tech ground-source lake loop system tied to the pond on the ranch's private, championship golf course. The system achieves up to 60 percent efficiency when compared with traditional gas-fired heating. Residents have the opportunity to select cutting-edge technology that will make their homes and cabins highly efficient.

About Brasada Ranch

Brasada Ranch, located 16 miles northeast of Bend, Ore., presents a sophisticated new approach to Central Oregon's high-desert lifestyle. An 1,800-acre playground, the community will ultimately include about 900 residences. Offering home sites up to one-and-a-half acres in size, as well as luxurious cabins, it is an extraordinary destination for championship golf, skiing in the Cascades, hiking, biking and a host of outdoor activities. The private, 18-hole golf course, designed by PGA TOUR professional Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy, opened this summer. Brasada Ranch is part of the JELD-WEN Community([R]) group, a premier developer of Western resort and residential properties. For more information, visit www.brasada.com.