CRA Recognized as Home Innovation NGBS Green Certification Partner of Excellence
Green Advocate Applauded for Excellence in Advancing High-Performance Mainstream Home Building
Boynton Beach, FL – Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency has been recognized as one of Home Innovation Research Labs’ 45 Green Partners of Excellence for 2012-2013. Being one of only a handful of partners for Home Innovation’s green certification program to be honored with this award underscores the commitment Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment has made to providing the local community with increased home value, comfort, durability, and efficiency through promotion of the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard (NGBS) and the Home Innovation program.
“We’ve gone through a lot of changes in this last year – changes in the industry, in our company, and in the National Green Building Standard,” said Home Innovation Labs president and CEO Michael Luzier. “While all the changes have been extremely positive, we recognize it takes a lot for a company or an individual to ‘roll with the punches’ and persevere with the same level of enthusiasm and excellence in a certification program as rigorous as ours. That is why this year we were compelled to recognize the significant commitment to innovation and leadership in the residential construction industry that some of our NGBS Green Partners have displayed. We are truly impressed and inspired by what these partners are achieving in the field and the market transformation they are helping to accomplish.”
In the last year, Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency made concerted efforts to educate local builders, architects, and consumers about the value of independent, third-party green home certification, and the rigor of the NGBS. The Seabourn Cove project in the Boynton Beach CRA district has been identified as the nation’s largest green multi-family community on nearly 23 acres.
The CRA gave the Seabourn Cove developers $2 million in property tax rebates over the next 10 years under the Climate Action Plan to help pay for the “green” initiatives, which cost about $3 million. The CAP program was adopted to demonstrate the city’s commitment to help reduce greenhouse gases. The collaboration between the developer and the City/ CRA based on sustainability and green construction methods was the first public –private cooperation in Florida.
“This project represents true green housing standards while creating sustainability, we encourage more developers to follow and continue to make major advances in green housing sustainability,” Vivian Brooks, Executive Director of the Boynton Beach Community Development Agency.
To earn certification to the National Green Building Standard, a home must meet rigorous criteria in six categories – Lot & Site Development; Resource Efficiency; Energy Efficiency; Water Efficiency; Indoor Environmental Quality; and Homeowner Education. There are mandatory practices in each category that every NGBS Green Certified home must meet, and there are a wide range of additional optional practices in each category that a builder can select based on the applicability to buyers in their market. There are also mandatory point minimums in every category in order for a home to attain the next level of certification, which is a more stringent requirement than any other national certification program has.
Since the National Green Building Standard became the first and only residential green building rating system to be approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in January 2009, Home Innovation Research Labs has certified over 20,500 new and remodeled single-family homes, apartments, and lots within green land developments. For more information on the NGBS or the Home Innovation NGBS Green Certification Program, visit www.HomeInnovation.com/Green; for a complete list of all this year’s NGBS Green Partners of Excellence, visit www.HomeInnovation.com/NGBSGreenPartnersOfExcellence2013. For more information on Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, visit Catch Boynton.com or contact Vivian Brooks, Executive Director, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
ABOUT Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency: The Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) serves the community by guiding redevelopment activities, such as affordable housing, free special events and small business funding programs, that create a vibrant downtown core and revitalized neighborhoods within the Agency’s District comprised of 1,650 acres along the eastern edge of the City of Boynton Beach.
ABOUT HOME INNOVATION RESEARCH LABS: Home Innovation Research Labs, located in Upper Marlboro, Md., is a full-service research, testing, and consulting firm determined to improve the quality, durability, affordability, and environmental performance of single- and multifamily homes and home building products – in short, we aim to perfect the home. Founded in 1964 as a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), our team has been integral in solving many of our client’s most difficult product and technology issues, and helping to introduce some of the most groundbreaking innovations in residential construction. Through an interdisciplinary research approach – including market research, building science analysis, laboratory testing, and standards development – we help to find a home for innovation in the residential construction industry.
