Group names best 15 builders of sustainable homes in state – Orlando Sentinel
Florida Green Building Coalition unveiled on Tuesday a statewide list of its top 15 builders of sustainable homes.
“These builders are being recognized for their conscientious green building efforts in creating healthier and safer homes and a more sustainable Florida,” said Suzanne Cook, council executive director.
Similar to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system for environmentally friendly construction and design, the Florida Green Building Coalition has established a scoring system that ranks new homes and buildings as bronze, silver, gold or, at the highest, platinum.
One of the 15 is ContraVest Development Partners of Altamonte Springs.
President Mark Ogier said his company followed the bronze-certification standard when it built a $43 million complex of 330 apartments in St. Petersburg.
“It’s been our conclusion that there is a marketing advantage to it, and if you are doing it and your competition isn’t you can certainly sell that to your prospective residents,” Ogier said.
Ogier, past president of Florida Apartment Association and Apartment Association of Greater Orlando, said reasons for going green with multifamily housing vary from region to region, but typically “you see it more in urban, in-fill environments.”
The state coalition tailors its certifications according to Florida climate and other factors specific to the state. The group has certified more than 10,500 homes and the top 15 builders were selected according to their number of certifications.
The other 14 are: Alantic Housing Partners of Winter Park; FLF Holdings of Jupiter; Florida Home Partnership of Ruskin; K. Hovnanian Homes and William Ryan Homes of Tampa; Kimball Hill Homes of Bradenton; Minto Communities of Coconut Creek; Neal Communities, Lee Wetherington Homes and Taylor Morrison Homes of Sarasota; Premier Construction & Development of Tallahassee; Southern Crafted Homes of Land O’ Lakes; WCI Communities of Bonita Springs; and ZOM Development of Ft. Lauderdale.
