By Shera Dalin
Environmentally-conscious homebuilders are increasingly seeing
green in the St. Louis area, which is developing a reputation
as an eco-home hot spot.
St. Louis was named new Green Homebuilding Program of the year
by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) at its nationwide
conference held here in March. Also, the Home Builders Association
of Greater St. Louis green homebuilding program leads other
markets in the U.S. in certifying the most new green home construction
under the NAHB’s model green homebuilding guidelines.
About 97,000 voluntarily built environmentally friendly homes
have been constructed nationally since the mid-‘90s, up by about
half, according to NAHB. That pace certainly wasn’t the story
a decade ago, says Matt Belcher, president of green builder
Belcher Homes, the local HBA and St. Louis Green Building Council.
“The last two years have seen the most significant change on
a number of different levels. Consumer awareness has just snowballed,”
Belcher says.
He credits younger consumers with environmental concern as well
as Baby Boomers who were environmentally conscious in the 1970s
and are “getting back to their roots, even if they are gray,”
he quips.
“The availability of material to build green with has grown
exponentially over the last couple of years. Manufacturers are
starting to compete,” Belcher says.
That means that material prices are dropping. The cost of building
an eco-sensitive house is about the same as a traditional one,
he says. Two years ago, the cost ran about two percent to five
percent higher in this area, he estimated.
Builders such as Belcher and what he calls his “co-opetition,”
Sage Homebuilders, are making bets on a few spec homes and,
now, a large, 280-unit development Rock Hill Trails in Wood
River.
The development includes materials and principles labeled “sustainable,”
which lessen the consumption of valued resources such as forests
or landfills. The homes are built on lots that use prairie as
conservation and landscaping to prevent storm-water runoff.
Exteriors include southern orientations—the No. 1 thing, Belcher
says—to help with lighting and heating from the sun.
Interiors include carpet made from recyclables, natural materials
such as marble and granite, high efficiency appliances, lumber
certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and as much
material from local sources as possible to cut down on carbon
emissions from shipping.
Solar panels aren’t widely used here yet because the cost, while
dropping, is still prohibitive. But Belcher says he is prewiring
his homes so that when the panels are affordable, installation
will be efficient and less costly.
“As the cost versus benefit gap closes, they’ll be ready to
go,” Belcher says.
Maren Engelmohr, architect with Forum Studio, used sustainability
principles when she designed her family’s home in Kirkwood.
As the architect who designed the interior of one of the world’s
greenest commercial buildings, Alberici Corp. headquarters,
Engelmohr was knowledgeable about green building.
It was definitely me saying we wanted to do this. We knew before
we even had a site that we wanted a green home. That helps to
make a lot of decisions early on,” she says.
They bought an in-fill site, or former existing home site, that
was close to public transportation and amenities. She designed
a house that was efficient and, even with four bedrooms and
2,500 square feet, is a bit smaller than average.
Engelmohr oriented the house to the south to absorb as much
sunlight as possible in the many windows on the home’s south
side. She designed landscaping to absorb storm-water runoff
as much as possible and kept the driveway small to reduce runoff.
Other outside elements included a roof base of structural insulated
panels with a high insulation value. The panels are also cut
to size offsite to reduce construction waste. She chose cement
fiber siding for low maintenance.
Inside, Engelmohr selected hardwood floors from a sustainable
forest; paint, carpet and countertops that emit low amounts
of gasses; Energy-Star compliant appliances and windows; low
flow fixtures and toilets; a tankless water heater; and a central
vacuum system that also helps clean the air.
“We tried to use as many environmentally-friendly products as
we could,” she says.
Although the family moved in around mid-summer, Engelmohr says
she hasn’t collected enough utility bills yet to determine if
she is saving on energy costs.
She can definitively say that building costs were no more than
traditional homes, except for the roof materials, which were
about 20 percent more.
“We are really pleased with it,” she says.
