Natale Builders Receives 2014 NAHB “Project of the Year Award for Green Site Development”
35 Homes in Rivera Greens Community Start with Superior Walls Foundations
NEW HOLLAND, PA. – The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) presented its prestigious “Project of the Year Award for Green Site Development – Single-family Detached” to Natale Builders on February 5, 2014 for the company’s construction of the ultra-efficient, environmentally-friendly Rivera Greens subdivision. Located in Clarence, New York, the 35 sustainable green homes in the community were all built to meet certification requirements for the National Green Building Standard (NGBS).
“It’s an honor to receive this NAHBGreen Award for the first green development created in New York state,” says Larry LaDuca, general manager of Natale Builders in Clarence, N.Y. “We constructed each home in the Rivera Greens development from the ground up with green building practices and products.
“One of the products we rely on consistently in each house to launch the green initiative is the Xi™ precast concrete foundation from Superior Walls. These dry, energy-efficient wall panels help ward off heat loss and make the basement a more comfortable area for extended living and storage space in the home throughout the year.”
Superior Walls Xi wall panels used by Natale Builders feature steel reinforced concrete and 2-1/2-inches of DOW® Styrofoam™ insulation to create a barrier against sidewall water penetration. The panels are custom designed and constructed in the factory-controlled setting at Superior Walls of Upstate New York in Lima, N.Y.. Unique features of the Xi wall panels include:
5,000+ PSI concrete
Steel-reinforced top bond beams, concrete studs and footer beams
Horizontal steel rebar inside top and bottom beams
Vertical steel rebar inside each stud
Insulated access holes for ease in wiring and plumbing
Galvanized steel stud facing ready for drywall finishing
Insulated corners, studs and bond beams
Rivera Greens
Rivera Greens received a four-star certification to the 2008 ICC 700 NGBS. In addition to the development being certified, every home built in the community is certified to the Silver Level of NGBS at a minimum. Several homes rated Gold and Emerald Levels.
“There was a 150-year-old barn on the property originally that we had deconstructed on site by local Amish workers,” says LaDuca. “The wood was reused to make a gazebo and benches for our residents.”
The development includes a natural pond and well water used for irrigation through a pump system powered by a 3.7 Skystream windmill. The windmill also powers the streetlights — which incorporate 100-year-old solid cast iron poles that were from the city’s depot garage.
“We’re very proud that 95 percent of the homes in this development use an alternative energy source such as geothermal or solar,” says LaDuca. “Every home at Rivera Greens consists of near energy neutral homes and exceed ENERGY STAR® 3.0 qualifications.”
Green from the Ground Up
The Superior Walls insulated precast concrete wall systems have earned the National Green Building Standard™ Green Certified Product designation by Home Innovation Research Labs (formerly the NAHB Research Center).
For homeowners and facility operators, the benefits of Superior Walls foundations systems are substantial. The energy-efficient walls help lower energy costs and reduce energy leakage while providing increased living and storage space in a comfortable setting. Builders also benefit from saved job site time and labor when certified Superior Walls installation crews set the walls in place in less than one day, so that construction can immediately begin the following day.
Superior Walls panels for Natale Builders are constructed at the indoor production facility at Superior Walls of Upstate New York. The offsite construction eliminates the potential of any jobsite soil contamination such as the form oil used for poured walls. No on-site sprays or bituminous coatings are required to make the walls dampproof.
Since Superior Walls panels are engineered and manufactured with insulated concrete studs, Superior Walls reduces the amount of materials used to build a structure, including wood and concrete, and reduces the carbon footprint of a new home or commercial facility’s construction process.
According to NAHB, The Green Project Awards category highlights those projects showcasing outstanding application of green technologies to a variety of project types. All projects are scored to the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard to establish the relative sustainability of each, and then judged on other merits such as green innovation and design. For more details visit http://www.nahb.org/news_details.aspx?newsID=16646&print=true.
For more information, visit www.natalebuilders.com, www.riveragreen.com, http://www.superiorwallsnypa.comand www.superiorwalls.com.
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