The U.S. Green Building Council Awards Leed Silver Certification For Green Homebuilding To Habitat For Humanity's Vermont Village

    GARDENA, CA, March 10, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Habitat for Humanity's Vermont Village, a 14-home neighborhood in South Los Angeles built by thousands of volunteers during the 2007 Jimmy Carter Work Project, was certified LEED Silver by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for achievement in green homebuilding. LEED for Homes is a national third-party system that certifies energy efficient, healthy, green homes. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles is at the forefront of developing affordable housing that is also sustainable, which means substantially lower utility bills for its partner families.

"Words can hardly express how proud I am of our construction team and their commitment to green building," said Erin Rank, president/CEO, Habitat for Humanity GLA. "We have built and renovated nearly 500 homes and to be able to go the extra mile for the environment and then have it benefit our partner families with lower utility costs, is just icing on the cake."

"The U.S. Green Building Council is proud to help celebrate Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles' commitment to greener living," said Michelle Moore, Senior Vice President of Policy & Market Development, U.S. Green Building Council. "Their leadership - exemplified by Vermont Village - is a model for our nation and demonstrates that we can all live better by reducing our environment footprint, cutting our utility bills, and coming home to a healthier place to live."

Vermont Village is a gated neighborhood with 14 townhomes, located on Vermont Avenue near Imperial Highway in South Los Angeles. The neighborhood is equipped with solar energy generation systems; tankless water heaters; water retention systems; native/low water use plants; low flow toilets; water saver faucets/showers; efficient irrigation design; efficient lighting; recycled wall and ceiling insulation; green recycled carpet and pad; cementatious fiberboard siding and insulated glass windows.

LEED-certified homes must meet technically rigorous specifications that include a home energy (HERS) rating and onsite inspections. Habitat for Humanity GLA built an additional 16 green homes in San Pedro and renovated 70 more homes during the 2007 Jimmy Carter Work Project and recently announced the building of 10 more green homes in the City of Lynwood to begin this year.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF GREATER LOS ANGELES strives to eliminate poverty housing through advocacy, education and partnership with families in need to build simple, decent affordable housing. Since 1990, HFH GLA has built and renovated nearly 500 homes locally and worldwide, transforming the lives of hundreds of individuals. For more information, visit www.habitatla.org.

About the U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit membership organization whose vision is a sustainable built environment within a generation. Its membership includes corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and other nonprofit organizations. Since UGSBC's founding in 1993, the Council has grown to more than 14,500 member companies and organizations, a comprehensive family of LEED green building rating systems, an expansive educational offering, the industry's popular Greenbuild International Conference and Expo (www.greenbuildexpo.org), and a network of 77 local chapters, affiliates, and organizing groups. For more information, visit www.usgbc.org.

About LEED for Homes
LEED for Homes is a third-party certification system for high-performance green homes. Developed and administered by USGBC, LEED for Homes awards points to projects in seven categories of environmental performance: Location & Linkages, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, Energy & Atmosphere, Homeowner Awareness, and Innovation and Design. To date, more than 540 homes have been LEED-certified, and over 13,000 have been registered and are under development. For more information, visit www.thegreenhomeguide.org.

For more information regarding Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, please visit www.habitatla.org. For all other media inquiries please contact Angela Moore at 310-429-8868 or [email protected].

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