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

The Lazy Environmentalist Rules

Just the other day , I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by Josh Dorfman, AKA the Lazy Environmentalist . Josh is a great guy who is fostering a pragmatic and insightful approach to green living based on the notion that in order for green to become mainstream, it has to be something regular folks can get on board with.

The Lazy Environmentalist
"No guilt-trips. Never any sacrifice. Josh introduces listeners to cutting-edge, eco-friendly products and services and features interviews with the designers, entrepreneurs and visionaries who are demonstrating how many of today's best choices are green choices."

You can check out the interview in mp3 format here:

Part I - 11 minutes

Part II - 11 minutes

Enjoy and be sure to check out Josh's show everyday on Sirius-

Jay

Greenbuild 2007 -- An Aside

Hey all:

We were fortunate enough to attend Greenbuild 2007, the world's largest green building convention. After making the trip up to Chicago, we quickly made friends with some like-minded green folks and were treated to some excellent hospitality, Portland style, at the PDX Lounge.

The exhibit hall was quite a scene and we learned a lot while making great connections. The glut of new green technology was nothing short of amazing, and it was wild to see over 20,000 strong supporting the cause at the McCormick Center.

We received a lot of positive feedback for getting the first LEED Platinum home in the Midwest, and really enjoyed talking to people from around the world who are bringing green building to the forefront.

Standing in the middle of that ocean of people, one could really get the sense that the "green revolution" was reaching the mainstream. Got to keep spreading the word...

The Latest

News of the Platinum Certification has really helped us get the word out there, and we have been receiving a lot of interest lately - especially from other developers and investors interested in single and mulit-family green rental units.

We're currently looking into some interesting projects -- as there has been a lot going on in the green community both in STL and beyond.

Thanks also to all of you out there who have been talking us up.

I wanted to give a shout out to one of the best modern/green sites out there: Jetson Green
You have to check out this resource if you are at all interested in the modern/green movement.

Also, check out our friends over at Low Impact Living. They are doing great work and are invaluable to websurfers seeking to "go green" in their daily lives.

Last but not least, I took this as a very good harbinger: Buffet bets on prefab homes.

Platinum, Baby!

More big news, folks.

Just heard from the USGBC: 3140 Pennsylvania is LEED for Homes Certified Platinum! Just the 10th Platinum residence in the country, and the FIRST home of any level in Missurah.

Man I wish I had time to celebrate...

EcoWeekend

It's going to be a busy weekend.

The next two EcoUrban units will be arriving at 3103 and 3105 Magnolia on Friday, and all are welcome to come and see the process -- it's really cool watching the houses get hoisted into place. The cranes should begin rolling around 8:00am and wrap up sometime around noon. Bring a sack lunch (or breakfast) and check it out.

In addition, the display at 3140 Pennsylvania is going to be "on tour" at the 6th annual EarthWays Green Homes House Tour:




And the good folks of Benton Park West are also presenting a house tour that will include our display home. The tour will embark from the Five Star Senior Center at 2832 Arsenal from 1pm to 4pm this Sunday September 30th.

So come on down folks and enjoy some EcoUrban good times.

Beyond Efficient...

Okay, so we knew our homes would be REALLY efficient.

But this is unreal.

Ladies and Gentleman, the actual August bill for our display home! We were hoping to average $75 a month at the display home but to hit $65 for the second hottest month this year in St. Louis?

Truly awesome.

Lots! Lots!

As of this posting folks, we have 4 serious couples (and a quite few more in the pipeline) who want to buy an EcoUrban Home.

When I say serious, I mean serious.

Naturally, they want to build on a great lot that meets their specifications.

So... we need to find lots. Anybody out there with lots in Tower Grove, Benton Park, Lindenwood Park, St. Louis Hills, Maplewood, Kirkwood, U.City, Dogtown, CWE or similar 'hoods:

HOLLER!
314-662-0392

Green Summer

It's been a wild ride these last few months. From our grand opening and other events at the display home, to conceptualizing and planning for the arrival of our next two homes at 3103 and 3105 Magnolia, there has been little time to step back and collect my thoughts. So... with that in mind:

7 Lessons Learned this Green Summer:

1. Everyone loves the interior of the display at 3140 Pennsylvania

2. Not everyone is ready for modern design

3. Our level of efficiency is **even better** than we expected -- $70 per month!

4. I am an eternal optimist (when it comes to budgets)

5. SONOS rules!

6. People get really bored when I talk about insulation

7. And finally... if you build it....

Thanks to everyone -- friends, family, and new friends -- who came by to support/check out/learn about/potentially buy(!) an EcoUrban home. As of this post we are getting VERY close with a number of really cool folks. Who will be the first to EcoUrbanite in the Lou??? Stay tuned...

Below are some renderings of what our Magnolia Townhomes will look like... enjoy!

Interior Shots of 3140 Pennsylvania

BEAUTIFUL, CLASSY AND ENERGY-EFFICIENT HOMES.

Images from EcoUrban Grand Opening

Over 150 people joined us and Mayor Francis G. Slay on the hottest day of the year to celebrate the opening of EcoUrban's first home built in Benton Park West at 3140 Pennsylvania - St. Louis hottest green address. While the home took less than a month to build, from concept to reality more than 2 years of work was on display. We were overwhelmed with how well our first home came together and while we already have a list of planned improvements - Version 1.0 is a home to be proud of.

Now we just need some folks to buy this home (which is just the 6th LEED-Platinum home in the country) or to buy our home and build it on one of our 14 lots or on land anywhere they can imagine.

See images from the event at:

http://flickr.com/photos/urbanreviewstl/sets/72157600325733244/

Images from Steve Patterson of http://urbanreviewstl.com/

Project Manager Jay Swoboda with Mayor Francis G. Slay at Opening.

EcoUrban Homes Grand Opening - June 7th, 2007

Please join EcoUrban Homes, The Honorable Francis G. Slay, Mayor of St. Louis, Alderman Kenneth Ortmann, Alderwoman Kacie Tripplett as we usher in a new era of green construction in St. Louis.

Help us celebrate the completion of Missouri’s first precision built, LEED-registered home at our Grand Opening Celebration to be held June 7, 2007 from 5:00pm – 8:00pm at 3140 Pennsylvania Avenue in the Benton Park West Neighborhood of South St. Louis.

We are proud to offer a first look at the results of the EcoUrban construction philosophy-- green homes that combine great design with an unparalleled commitment to health and sustainable construction.

At EcoUrban, we incorporate an environmental program that is among the most comprehensive in new construction. The result: unique, healthy homes that are 80% more efficient than similar conventional residences.

Free Valet Parking will be available with food and drink provided by Pestalozzi Place and Erato Wine Bar.

PLEASE RSVP BY JUNE 6TH TO jay@ecourbanhomes.com

Click here for DIRECTIONS

Live Green. Live Urban. Live EcoUrban.

- Varenna Kitchen Under Construction

- Bamboo Stairs going in on 5/30/07

- Fiber Cementboard Siding before paint and cedar trim

EcoUrban Units Arrive in Saint Louis

After what felt like decades of anticipation and wait, it took just six days after the first pieces of wood were nailed together in the factory for the units to be delivered. Our units arrived at 10 AM this morning and the 60 Ton crane that lifted them into place was packed up and gone by 2 PM. We had a nice crowd gather to watch the four "boxes" come together and by the end of the day we were weather tight and secure. Finally, what was once just an idea becomes reality.

FINAL EXTERIOR --->

Modules Under Construction in Factory

This is the real deal...EcoUrban units coming together at the modular factory. More later...

Signs, Sign, everywhere the Signs...

You would swear some out-of-towner deceided to drop these BEAUTIFUL site signs down on our two sites. I'm taking bets on how long they last before the neighborhood characters vandalize them - I'm hopeful - but realistic. We deceided to go with the modern facade for both signs even though the two homes on Magnolia will be historic. I felt it more important to have a common look and feel rather than attempting to confuse passer-bys with multiple signs.

Your feedback is always appreciated. ECO! ECO! ECO! ECO! ECO! ECO! ECO!