GREEN SOLUTIONS: GRAND PARK EARNS BUILT GREEN™
CERTIFICATION WITH INNOVATIVE BUILDING PRACTICES
By Marissa Anderson

It’s no surprise that many homebuyers today are looking for ways to have their perfect mountain home and be environmentally conscious at the same time. Luckily for those homebuyers, Grand Park is building quality mountain homes that allow buyers to have both desires met.

Grand Park has been recognized as the only community in Grand County to earn its Built Green™ Colorado certification. Introduced in 1995, Built Green Colorado was created through the joint efforts of the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver, The Governor’s Office of Energy Management and Conservation, Xcel Energy, and EStar Colorado.

Built Green™ certification provides independent, third party verification that a building project meets energy efficiency requirements and addresses a list of “green” items from which a builder must select a minimum number. Only homes registered in the program may receive the Built Green™ designation.

“It’s vitally important to us that we offer a real estate product that is not only the highest quality, but also one that reflects our values of being socially responsible and earth-friendly,” says Clark Lipscomb, President of Grand Park. “We’ve focused on creating a community for people who care about reducing their carbon footprint, so this certification is a great honor.”

Grand Park homes have Warmboard® in-floor radiant heat, which reduces wood and material usage as well as lowers energy costs by as much as 20 percent. Environmentally friendly Spray Polyurethane Foam insulation provides the nation’s top performance rating and virtually eliminates air leakage.

Grand Park collects lumber scraps during construction and ships them to A1 Organics in Eaton, Colorado for recycling. There they are turned into organic mulch and composting material instead of ending up in a landfill.

The energy efficiency of a home is measured by a home energy rating through a detailed inspection and testing by a certified Rater - and analyzed by an accredited Home Energy Rating System (HERS). On the HERS scale, 100 points represents a home that is built to code. Each point subtracted from 100 represents a 1 percent increase in energy efficiency. The homes at Grand Park are receiving an average score of 66, indicating that the homes are 34 percent more efficient than a standard code home and are recognized by E-Star with a 5 Star Plus rating, the highest rating possible.

“We believe it takes much more than simply installing Energy Star appliances to build truly green homes,” Lipscomb says. “It’s really a mindset about how you create the entire community.”

“Smart Growth,” a land use concept that includes a compact, walkable, bicycle-friendly community design, keeps density concentrated and combats sprawl with a series of interconnected trails that reduce the need for cars and cut down on traffic.

Hundreds of acres in the 1,330-acre community have been preserved as open space and an extensive trail system of both paved and natural paths is planned at Grand Park, off Highway 40 in Fraser.


READ MORE STORIES ON GREEN SOLUTIONS IN:
• Reclaimed Exteriors: New life for old wood
• The Modular Home: A new way for a home to take shape
• Airtight Investment: An insulated business plan
• Grand Park Earns Built Green™: Certification with innovative building practices
• Building with a Conscience: Renewable energy survives despite obstacles