Gile Hill, the new mixed-income residential community in Hanover, NH has been awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Gile Hill, with 62 of its planned 120 homes now complete (and another 15 scheduled to open by April 1), brings together well-designed, for-sale and rental housing in a new neighborhood that abuts the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. The for-sale homes range in price from $180,000 to $414,000, and the rents from $600 to $1450 per month. Since the first buildings opened in late November, 2008, Gile Hill has already become home to doctors and entrepreneurs, nurses, engineers and teachers, as well as graduate students, single moms, recent immigrants and first time homeowners. It is one of the most economically diverse new communities in the state of New Hampshire.
LEED for Homes is a third party certification program which is the national benchmark for design, construction, and operation of homes that are energy efficient, healthy, and green. LEED certification is done on a building-by-building basis, and was confirmed for the first two of Gile Hill’s 8 completed buildings, with the rest to follow shortly. When the remaining buildings receive their certification, Gile Hill will be the largest LEED for Homes-Certified project in New England and the one of the largest in the United States and Canada. Across the US, only 1,000 projects or 1,500 homes have received LEED for Homes Certification, with fewer than 20% achieving the Gold or Platinum level.
Examples of the way in which green building principles are found throughout the project include the siding on the buildings milled from the trees from the site, extra insulation from the foundation to the roof, ultra high efficiency heating equipment, energy efficient windows, compact building footprints, the use of paint, carpet and other finishes that do not release toxic chemicals, and the use of Vermont slate, responsibly grown bamboo flooring, and other sustainable building materials.
“The majority of the visitors to our model home tell us that owning a ‘green home’ is very important to them,” said Miro Weinberger, a partner at the Hartland Group, which along with Twin Pines Housing Trust, is the developer of Gile Hill. “People want lower utility bills, indoor air free from formaldehyde and other dangerous building product chemicals, and to play a role in combating climate change by reducing their environmental footprint. The LEED Gold certification confirms that Gile Hill homes will do all of this.”
“The green and high performance approaches incorporated into these buildings are more suitable to its environment, more durable, and healthier for its occupants and the planet,” said Peter Schneider, Senior Project Manager for the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation which served as LEED consultant to Gile Hill.
The LEED Gold Certification is the culmination of more than four years of work by a talented team of designers and construction professionals. All of the firms below played a major role in securing this high rating:
Gossens Bachman Architects – Architect
Trumbull-Nelson – Construction Manager
Pathways Consulting LLC – Civil Engineer
Saucier Flynn – Landscape Architect
Yeaton Associates – Mechanical Engineer
Pearson + Associates – Electrical Engineer
Engineering Ventures – Structural Engineer
Vermont Energy Investment Corporation – LEED Consultant
Conservation Services Group-Home Energy Rater
In addition, the pursuing a rigorous LEED certification would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of the project funders:
RBS Citizens Bank
New Hampshire House Finance Authority
Red Capital
Bowdoin Charitable Trust for Housing Creation
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund
Mascoma Savings Bank
Grafton County
The Town of Hanover |
