Great Opportunity to Learn about the State of Construction & Demolition Recycling in St. Louis

Getting tired of trips to the dumpster and landfill? Think there must be a better way to manage all the construction and demolition waste you face on job sites? Well...then you should join EcoUrban next Wednesday for a deeper look at the current situation and what can be done to increase landfill diversion and developing opportunities for profiting from construction waste.

The St. Louis Region and the Midwest are blessed with much open space, which means that it is easy to overlook where our generated residential and commercial waste ends up. Our landfill tipping fees, i.e. “the cost to dump”, are relatively low compared to other parts of the United States as a result of the abundance of landfill areas. Many consumers, businesses and contractors think nothing of throwing things “away and out of sight.” However, it is not environmentally responsible to dispose of items that could be salvaged, recycled or reused. It is also irresponsible to think of our landfill space as unlimited. One day there will not be an “away” for our waste disposal.

With support from St. Louis Jefferson Solid Waste Management, USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter, ReSource St. Louis and Missouri Enterprise have partnered to address the need to better understand C&D waste resources in the St. Louis area and build a business case for increasing waste reduction with the ultimate goal of reducing waste in our landfills and preserving the environment for future generations.

Join us for a free educational seminar on the State of Construction & Demolition Recycling in St. Louis.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Acquire a comprehensive background on the present “lay of the landfill” as it relates to common and existing practices for dealing with C&D end of project materials.

Identify current best alternative practices for dealing with C&D materials in the greater St. Louis area, encouraging a shift away from current dead-end strategies.

Examine the recycling needs of the building community, as they relate to LEED requirements and personal best choices.

Capture and expand upon possible business case options as they relate to LEED requirements and personal best choices.

Explore barriers to C& D recycling, dispelling the myths and offering sound metrics to encourage an embracing of recycling as opposed to dumping.

Recognize national case studies of technologies and approaches already in place elsewhere which provide significant monetary and environmental savings to communities and states.

Thanks to the Project Team who managed the focus groups and developed the C&D Toolkit and this Education Session!

Gary Steps – Butterfly Energy Works – Instructor

Jay Swoboda – EcoUrban – Instructor

Jen Loui – Butterfly Energy Works – Project Manager

WHEN


Wednesday, June 22, 2011

3:30 – 5:30 pm

WHERE

6301 Knox Industrial Drive (63139), Second Floor Assembly Room

FEE

Free!

REGISTER

Online on the AGC-St. Louis website:

http://events.agcstl.org/iMISPublic/Core/Events/eventdetails.aspx?iKey=062211GRE

What's Next: Middle Class Green or Small Homes?

Check out the link below that discusses some real world green prefab buyers from "Prefabulous + Sustainable" by Sheri Koones...a book EcoUrban was featured in from 2010 - with a pretty snazzy forward by none other than, Mr. Robert Redford. I read the USA Today article, and had to wonder: Is EcoUrban just building green for the middle class?

http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20110117/modularhomes17_cv.art.htm

To date, all of the homes built by EcoUrban have sold for under $180,000 (which doesn't exactly leave much room for profit margin on our 1600 square foot homes) and recently we partnered up with some local community development organizations to build 8 homes with a $96,250 mortgage after a ton of subsidy from HUD and a local housing trust fund.

We spend a lot of time & effort pushing for affordable new construction green as something that everyone can own, but the fact is that without subsidy we've got a non-sustainable business model. How do we compete? I've learned that to walk-away from new construction projects with the hybrid modular/site work model we've developed with a 15% profit - that we need to sell the final product with land for $140 per square foot - or $225,000 for a 1,500 square foot home. Sadly, this number just isn't supported in our region with so much affordable historic homes and distressed properties. On the other hand, show this number to someone in California and I tend to think these homes would be flying off the shelf.

So, what gives? Maybe we just need to educate consumers more that new construction, energy-efficient intelligently designed 1,500 square foot homes for $225,000 is a freakin' great deal! Sure you can buy a historic shell for $2,000 and spend $150,000 (if you can find a 203K lender in the mood) re-creating a home in some of our amazing historic neighborhoods - it has been done and continues. Seriously though, why spend over a year banging your head against the wall to live with uninsulated brick walls (or losing space to furred-out insulated walls) if the sustainable new construction option is within reach and takes less than 4 months? I just don't see how EcoUrban's model can compete if buyers are willing to accept inefficient charm over sustainable efficiency...moving on!

So, if I can beat 'em at the historic vs. new homes game what about creating a new market? I've been obsessed the with idea of pushing our buyers to accept smaller footprint homes - something that national trends toward smaller homes just don't seem to support yet. It seems buyers with limited budgets still want all the features - so, perhaps the opportunity is there. I've always wanted to explore EcoUrban getting into the backyard cottage or ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) market, but wasn't sure there would be a customer base. Can you imagine EcoUrban developing something similiar to the following as a solution to that constant challenge for extra square footage, home office, or an easy rental addition? If I could develop a model that puts a 576 square foot rental unit on top of a 2-car garage for $75,000 - is there a business?

Check out the following links of small footprint homes and let me know if I'm crazy:

http://tinyhouseblog.com/pre-fab/clayton-i-house/ 

http://www.moderncabana.com/MC_main.html

http://www.rocioromero.com/

http://gliving.com/trouble-free-prehab-from-zenkaya/

http://michellekaufmann.com/2010/08/launch-of-new-designs/

Lots of great ideas...but is St. Louis ready? We shall see...

Pre-Regeneration Regeneration

Lots of NorthSide talk these days. Lots.

Even if you do, in fact, live under a rock in the St. Louis region, I'm willing to bet you still have an opinion about the proposed changes afoot in North St. Louis.

I've participated in, heard, and seen (online) enough discussion to realize that if ever something could be considered the definition of "lightning rod" for our region, it is this proposed development. No conversation on this matter, it seems, is complete until it has devolved into a series of cliches rehashing much of the bitterness, divisiveness, and acrimony that have marred our region's (and so many others, to be fair) cultural landscape for as long as anyone can remember.

This is good.

Not the name-calling and related bluster, but the fact that many of us are actually engaging with folks we normally wouldn't. Sure, a lot of it is online and anonymous, but a lot isn't. Many different individuals, City and County, Big Developer and grassroots rehabber, Northsider and Southsider and yes, Black and White are sitting down at the same proverbial table to discuss this. Isn't that one of the things that's supposed to make a city great?

You've heard it all before: St. Louis is full of walls. Walls between neighborhoods, wards, municipalities, high schools, races, the list goes on and on. But right now, while the discussion is undoubtedly ugly... at least it's happening. And maybe it's catharsis...

Because while I'm not sure the North Side project will succeed, I am positive it will fail unless we continue the dialogue, and continue working to ensure that all of us have a role in the regeneration.

Coming Soon: Actual EcoUrban news!

Greenest Day of the Year

Green means many different things to many different people. On Earth Day, it's all about the environment. We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to celebrate Earth Day in Forest Park this weekend, as EcoUrban set up a table to inform/educate about our approach to green building. It was a great way to spend a sunny spring day in the park.

Talking to all kinds of folks to this end was great. More and more, I am blown away by the amount of information the average St. Louis citizen has when it comes to sustainable building. The change in the kind of questions we get the last six months has been staggering -- this town is very savvy when it comes to green and it's only getting better. Green is here to stay and I'm proud to be a part of it.

This week is a great time to think of little things you can do to green up your house and neighborhood. Every bit helps, even if it's something as simple as declining that plastic bag or reminding your local deli about recycling.

The Longest Winter

While St. Louis struggled through what seemed to be the longest winter in recorded history, EcoUrban took some time to put the finishing touches on our Magnolia Townhomes. As you can see, they feature a historic exterior and warm, inviting interior finishes.

Our parent company, Brady Capital, just sold an excellent rehab next door, and 4 new homes are slated to be built just two houses down the street from our townhomes. Things are really looking up for the Tower Grove East Neighborhood thanks in no small part to the work of Alderwoman Kacie Starr Tripplett who really helped our cause by replacing sidewalks around our townhomes.

These are available now so be sure to drop us a line if you want to live green on a great corner just a few minutes walk from South Grand.

Starting the New Year with a BANG!!!

Our LEED for Homes Platinum dwelling @ 3140 Pennsylvania finally got the facelift we had been planning for several months with the installation of recycled aluminum cladding over the cedar battons. It was time we figured to quiet the detractors and to prove that contemporay modern design can be a quality addition to a traditionally historic neighborhood. Local contractor Mike Solomon put the cladding from Foreman Fabricators on over the past few days...and I can tell you the number of drive-bys applying their brakes has increased 10-fold.

Just a slight improvement...

Also, check out the great press we received from Louis @ Show-Me St. Louis:

http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=138016

Have a great start to the year and be sure to check out the updates to our display and our two historic homes @ 3103 & 3105 Magnolia.

Cheers,

Jay

EcoUrban Homes Named as Local Green Giant

EcoUrban Homes Named as Local Green Giant by St. Louis Magazine...below Nate Forst and I are looking pretty good - I mean who wouldn't buy a home from THESE guys...



And our LEED for Homes Platinum project in Benton Park West was featured as well:



Check out the interior shots and green features...



Thanks St. Louis Magazine, Steve Schenkenberg, Susan Jackson and Dilip Vishwanat for your great work and for your commitment to educating the community and your promotion of green!

Happy New Year and here is to a GREEN 2008!

Jay, Nate and Amos
EcoUrban Homes