South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity is building a 15 home development at 1800 Fairview Avenue NE in Olympia. These homes are built under the Cottage Zoning model - which means slightly smaller lots for each home, but a larger overall community space. We worked with a team of St. Martin’s College engineering students on the site plan. Click here for a map of where we are building.
House sponsors for the next four homes include
Here is what the final site will look like, for a larger image click the photo below.
What Green Building Means to Us
Small Lot - This uses less land and therefore removes less tress and disturbs less ground.
Pervious Parking Areas - Water is allowed to naturally flow through the parking areas and back in the water system. Reducing run-off and protecting our waterways.
Rain Retention - Rain gardens/ dry wells capture all rain that hits the roofs and allows it to naturally be reabsorbed into the ground. Preventing the use of large retention pond.
Natural Landscaping - We will re-plant natural trees and grasses so that the site has as little disruption as possible. We also worked to preserve as many trees on the site as possible.
Energy Efficient - The homes are highly insulated, both on the outside and inside to make sure that they stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Also, all appliances and fixtures that Habitat places in the home are energy star.
Water Wise - To cut down on costs to the homeowner as well as the consumption of water, we use low flow toilets and water efficient fixtures
Off Gassing - In an effort to keep the homes as healthy for the families as possible, we use as little vinyl as we can. All floors are laminate wood floors or tile, except the stairs for safety. We use Hardi Plank Siding on the exterior of the homes instead of vinyl siding. Last but still very important we use low-VOC paint inside the homes. All these combined make the house a safer place for the families to live.
