Give a summary of the project
	435 LaGrave Apartments at Tapestry Square is part of a multi-phase investment originally known as the Wealthy – Jefferson Development Initiative (WJDI). The WJDI initiative is an extensive, collaborative community effort to reimagine a 35-block area in the southern portion of downtown Grand Rapids, MI.Like a tapestry which is made both strong and beautiful by a diversity of interwoven materials, Tapestry Square is a strong, healthy vibrant urban neighborhood where a diverse group of people can live, work, shop, thrive and enjoy life. The building is a 26,450 square foot mixed-use, mixed-income building with 24 residential rental units and 2,242 square feet of first-floor commercial space. The residential portion of the building is comprised of eight market-rate apartments and sixteen apartments reserved for low-income households. Six of the sixteen low-income units are reserved for youth aging out of foster care.
Give us success stories as well as lessons learned
	Frequent communication about LEED goals between the site superintendent, owner, trades, and architect during all project phases helped ensure that requirements were met and attention was paid to important details. A major benefit of this communication was the consistently excellent blower door and duct leakage test results achieved in the units. Trust between project participants and an expectation of high-quality work contributed to the project’s achievement of LEED Gold certification, exceeding its goal of LEED Silver certification.
Tell us what is unique or innovative about this project
	The building is a mixed-use, mixed-income building located immediately proximate to a stop on Michigan’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line and is the first Transit Oriented Development in the state. Its neighborhood is amenity-rich with numerous residential, transit, food, education, employment, and healthcare-related facilities within easy walking distance.The residential portion of the building is comprised of eight market-rate apartments and sixteen apartments reserved for low-income households. This is Michigan’s first mixed-use permanent supportive housing development which includes six low-income apartments reserved for youth aging out of foster care. The partnership between ICCF and Bethany Christian Services provides the youth with a safe living environment and the supportive services needed to help them successfully transition into independent living. All residents benefit from reduced utility expenses provided by increased efficiency, in addition to the health benefits of LEED construction.
Any special thermal envelop, insulation or passive heating & cooling details?
	The building utilizes ThermalStar rigid insulation coupled with open cell spray foam for the wall system. Putty pads were used for all device boxes located in the exterior, corridor, and demising walls and close attention was paid to air sealant caulking for individual apartments.
Any special HVAC systems worth mentioning? Describe them
	435 LaGrave utilizes an energy-recovery ventilator system for fresh air circulation throughout the building coupled with in-unit Energy Star 96% furnaces for apartments.
Explain your water conservation strategies
	Every unit at 435 La Grave features low-flow bathroom sink faucets, toilets, and showerheads. The building also utilizes a highly efficient irrigation system, designed by an EPA Water Sense certified professional, which includes a moisture sensor that helps conserve water. All of the plants installed around the building are drought tolerant.
Explain your materials & durability strategies
	435 LaGrave used panelized construction to decrease the amount of waste generated by the framing process. Comingled dumpsters were used throughout the project and resulted in 75% of job site waste being diverted from the landfill to be reused/recycled instead.
Detail the health and indoor environmental quality benefits
	All of the paint, glue, and caulk used in the building is low VOC and SCS FloorScore/Green Label Plus flooring was used in an effort to minimize the number of harmful chemicals brought into the building. The building features continuous ventilation through the energy-recovery ventilator system to aid the exhaust of contaminants. Permanent walk-off mats were installed at every entry to reduce the amount of debris and contaminants tracked through the building.
Tell us about your place or location strategies
	435 La Grave at Tapestry Square is located in an amenity-rich neighborhood with numerous residential, transit, food, education, employment, and healthcare-related facilities within easy walking distance. It is in immediate proximity to the Silver Line, Michigan’s first Bus Rapids Transit (BRT) line, and has a Walk Score of 90. It is located on the edge of downtown Grand Rapids which offers an abundance of services and opportunities.

LEED™  FACTS

November 2017

GOLD CERTIFIED

Give a summary of the project

The West Town GreenStar Retrofit is a historic landmarked two-story brick home in Ukranian Village, Chicago, that was converted to an efficient, healthy, and modern single-family home while keeping the interior and exterior historic character details. A broad set of sustainability achievements mirror the five pillars of Greenstar Certification with special emphasis put on indoor health and indoor-outdoor connections.

Give us success stories as well as lessons learned

With the GreenStar framework, we pushed well beyond our initial goal of creating a healthy and energy efficient home. Our biggest success was knowing that we were able to preserve historic elements of this over 100-year-old home and reuse them while incorporating a vast range of state-of-the-art technology in a way that is high performance, modern, healthy, yet retaining the beauty of the historic elements. Lesson learned: Get to know the GreenStar checklist really well before starting the project planning. It would have inspired us to aim even higher.

Tell us what is unique or innovative about this project

A number of challenges of rehabbing a historic home sustainably required that we look for solutions that were rarely or never done before. Examples include customized solar PV angulation that varies from row to row to achieve maximum performance while meeting historic building codes, bentonite clay waterproofing to sustainably address water management and climate change resiliency, and incorporating a vast range of green space features and connections in a very limited space. Circadian rhythm / ambient light sensing LED lighting was a great addition to the health-promoting aspects of this home. Incorporating the latest green technologies while retaining historic elements while improving the aesthetics and livability was also unique in this project.

Any special thermal envelop, insulation or passive heating & cooling details?

The home includes bio-based spray foam insulation, high-performance windows and skylights, and a number of passive heating window features.

Any special HVAC systems worth mentioning? Describe them

While the hot water radiator system was retained with a significant downsizing to fit the markedly improved building envelop, a new Mitsubishi hyper heat minisplits system was added to an older Mitsubishi Mr. Slim system for cooling, dehumidifying and supplemental zoned heating. A Conditioning Energy Recovery Ventilation System (CERV) was incorporated to achieve indoor air quality (IAQ) goals of a healthy building.

Explain your water conservation strategies

Water conservation strategies including the installation of ultra high-performance Niagara Stealth toilets that uses 0.8 or fewer gallons per flush, WaterSense plumbing fixtures, high-performance appliances, drought-resistant native plants and turf in our green space to reduce irrigation, over 300 gallons of rain collecting capability for irrigation and other non-potable use.

Explain your materials & durability strategies

The project utilized as much of the materials that could be reused by carefully planning our deconstruction, including woodwork, bricks, appliances, landscaping materials, sink, etc. Recycling and waste diversion was carried out throughout the project. Sustainably made, locally-sourced cabinetry and ironwork, lumber, lighting fixtures, were sourced. Reliable products from manufacturers that value sustainability and durability were chosen whenever possible. Less toxic building materials, zero-VOC paint, formaldehyde free materials were examples of material selection made.

Detail the health and indoor environmental quality benefits

The project involved redesigning the layout to maximize natural lighting and indoor connection with green space. Indoor air quality is addressed through the installation of the CERV. Less toxic materials were utilized to reduce occupancy exposure. Circadian rhythm lighting was installed throughout the house to improve occupancy well being. EMF exposure was minimized through objective EMG measurements and hard wiring high-speed ethernet throughout.

Tell us about your place or location strategies

While it would have been easier to build a new “green home” in a new location, this home is in a vibrant historic landmarked neighborhood with excellent access to big city life, streets with bicycle lanes, walkability to stores, restaurants, shops, parks, and public transportation. The rehab retains existing historic elements and green space and transformed it into one that sustains native plants to assist wildlife while incorporating an edible garden, apiary, chicken coop, native fruit trees, and two rain gardens for rainwater management.

Give a summary of the project
	A complete gut Rehab. The interior was demo’d down to the studs. Wall cavities were insulated with open cell spray foam. Basement walls were insulated with R10 eco-cell and crawl space walls were insulated to an R10. Essentially everything was new on the house except for the studs and were able to save the original floor and have it refinished. On the exterior, there was an energy star 35-year shingle put on the roof. The existing siding was covered with an R2 fanfold foam board and then covered with a vinyl siding. Gutters were added, and a low maintenance landscape was added with a combination of native plants, stone, and bark.
Give us success stories as well as lessons learned
	Achieving the gold certification was definitely the biggest success. The biggest lesson learned would probably be the realization of how difficult it is to make a tight a home when you’re dealing with stone foundations, balloon framing, and crawl spaces. Another lesson learned would be just learning how to navigate through LEED on the requirements, and with all the paperwork.
Tell us what is unique or innovative about this project
	The house was built before 1900 and still had the old gas lines for lights in the walls.
Any special thermal envelop, insulation or passive heating & cooling details?
	Wall cavity’ were filled with open cell foam. Attic was filled with R50
Any special HVAC systems worth mentioning? Describe them
	ERV was installed
Explain your water conservation strategies
	A special donation from Niagara Conservation on a dual flush toilet that goes down to .6 gallons per flush.  Low flow showerheads, and bathroom faucets with low flow aerators on them. There is a very small amount of lawn that will need to be mowed. The majority of the lot is native plants surrounded by Mulch and stone.
Explain your materials & durability strategies
	The original floors were saved and refinished. All the original framing stayed in place. One of the bathrooms we were able to reuse the bathtub. In the entryway and bathrooms, ceramic tile was installed on the floors as well as around the tub and shower in the bathrooms.
Detail the health and indoor environmental quality benefits
	All materials on the project were either low or zero voc. The ERV constantly exhausts stale air and brings in fresh air to the occupants.
Tell us about your place or location strategies
	The location is close to many community resources such as parks, bus routes, grocery store, library.

GHI is excited to continue our collaboration with Christin Kappel to advanced residential sustainability and ensure you all are accurately rating your projects and getting the resources you need to serve your clients better. Christin has been a LEED for Homes Facilitator with us since 2010 and has been actively involved in over 500 buildings and 3,000 living units. She is the owner of Simply Sustainable LLC, a sustainability verification and consulting firm based in Indianapolis as well as the Past Board Chair for the U.S. Green Building Council Indiana Chapter.

Simply Sustainable LLC. is a WBE certified, sustainability consulting and verification firm focused primarily on helping underserved markets and communities.  She started her company to fill a need in the affordable and subsidized housing market for qualified green professionals to assist design and construction teams in meeting federal, state as well as local funding requirements, including but not limited to programs such as LEED, Energy Star, Enterprise and the National Green Building Standard. She assists in helping her teams not only create attainable goals but also meet their performance goals while providing truly affordable housing for seniors, veterans, homeless and families across the Midwest.

Moving forward all your new projects and some more recently registered projects will be assigned to Christin to handle.

GreenHome Institute continues Green Affordable Housing Initiative after receiving Wege Foundation Grant. 

Grand Rapids, MI February 2018

Thanks to a 2018 Wege Foundation Grant, the GreenHome Institute will continue working on the Grand Rapids Green Affordable Housing Initiative this year.

This program helps residential developers get access to education, training, resources, credentials, energy modeling and certification services to ensure that families have affordable utility costs and healthy living spaces.

The Wege grant allows the GreenHome Institute to be part of the solution to the affordable housing shortfall in the City of Grand Rapids. Spurring development in greener affordable housing projects will put more money in the pockets of people who need it, and reduce healthcare costs through healthier living spaces.

Affordable housing by definition means homes or apartments set aside for at least those making less than the area median income who may have trouble buying or renting with increased home values. Along with this, Grand Rapids recently announced some affordable housing initiatives that GHI will align with and support. The program also supports senior, veteran, homeless, youth and all supportive housing types.

“As part of the Keeler Flats I + II Development Team, we started working with GHI almost Two (2) years ago. It has been wonderful! We have learned how to couple affordable/workforce housing with energy modeling strategies for the benefit the tenants, our community and beyond. This is a social-economic victory and GHI should be commended for providing the education, inspiration, and empowerment. ” Jeffrey P. Dombrowski  Keeler Flats Development Team.

The program requires developers to follow a 3rd party green certification such as LEED for Homes, GreenStar, the DOE Home Energy Score or a few other valid programs. This helps gain them access to some types of incentives and ensures projects meet high-level water/energy efficiency and health standards.

“Well House began working with Green Home Institute a few years ago.  We started small, working to get our home scores improved and under the DOE Home Energy Score.  After completing many energy efficiency improvements to our homes, we decided to take on a full LEED renovation with help from Catalyst Partners and GHI.  It’s been a great experience.” Tami VandenBerg, Well House Executive Director.

GHI will be hosting green building introductory courses all year and working hands-on with developers along with funding their green certification costs.

Developers and those who are interested can learn more at greenhomeinstitute.org/grand-rapids-green-affordable-housing/

The GreenHome Institute is hosting a kick-off informational meeting at the Inner City Christian Federation located in the East Hills on March 1 from 6 to 8 pm.

About the GreenHome Institute

The GreenHome Institute is a Grand Rapids-based nonprofit that has been around for 18 years with a mission to empower people to make healthier and more sustainable choices in the renovation and construction of places we live. They helped certify over 8,500 green homes and trained over 30,000 people on building better.

About the Wege Foundation

The Wege Foundation is a 50-year-old Foundation in Grand Rapids Michigan started by Peter Melvin Wege out of his love for the Earth and all its people. The Wege Foundation has five major pillars which include; environment, education, health, the arts, community service and education. The foundation hosts a lecture speaker each year bringing an internationally renowned speaker to Aquinas College. The foundation originally funded GHI’s Executive Director Position in 2005 and the first Green Affordable Housing program in 2014. More recently the foundation has supported green development through Habitat for Humanity, the Inner City Christian Federation, Well House, Camp Newaygo, the West MI Environmental Action Council and the USGBC West MI Battle of the Buildings.

Contact

Brett Little
Executive Director
GreenHome Institute
616.458.6733
Brett.Little@greenhomeinstitute.org
GreenHomeInstitute.org

“Danny is a sustainability consultant for the Sustainable Research Group, working on projects that range from climate change risk assessments, green product certifications, life-cycle assessments, energy analysis, and greenhouse gas calculations. His passion and interests are rooted around sustainable buildings, affordable housing, and community development. He previously worked providing engineering services to improve housing conditions on Native American Reservations in Montana and South Dakota. In Grand Rapids, he worked as the Director of Sustainability for Well House, an organization that provides housing to people who are homeless. He is an alumni of and serves as chair of the board for Bike & Build, a non-profit organization that leads cross-country cycling trips to raise money and awareness for affordable housing. Danny earned his bachelors in Civil Engineering from Tufts University, and his Masters in Sustainable Building Systems from the University of Colorado-Boulder. In his spare time, he is an avid rock climber, and co-founded and co-chairs the West Michigan chapter of the American Alpine Club.”

With nearly 20 years of experience in housing program management, I am a dedicated, highly committed leader in real estate with extensive expertise in community assistance and outreach, mortgage lending, and commercial and residential real estate development. I have always focused on doing what’s best for my customers – and that means working with them to identify loan and housing options that best meet their needs while minimizing company risk. I have brought this dedication and expertise with me into highly successful entrepreneurial roles, where I have successfully managed all aspects of operations, sales, and business development to achieve significant market growth and profitability while launching new products and programs. Much of my success can be attributed not only to my aggressive drive and extensive knowledge, but to my ability to liaise with key stakeholders, brokers, government officials, and other contacts to make progress on major projects. In addition, I possess the unique knowledge of managing a 501(c)(3) organization, and the highly specialized requirements inherent.

Developer/Member/Owner
Company Name
Keeler Flats I + II Limited Dividend Housing Association Limited Partnership
Dates Employed
Dec 2016 – Present
Employment Duration
1 yr 2 mos
Location
Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan Area
Keeler Flats I & II is a proposed 132 unit adaptive use rehabilitation + affordable housing development to be located at 56 N. Division Ave., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503. Keeler Flats I & II will have (72) one bed-room units, (48) two- bedroom units and (12) three-bedroom units. Unit types will be rented to individuals and families. Keeler Flats I & II will serve residents earning a maximum of 60% AMI. Thirty three (33%) percent of the units (42) will be set aside to provide housing for special needs individuals. Both the developer and Indian Trails Camp/IKUS www.ikuslife.org are working with MSHDA’s Permanent Supportive Housing Team toward 42 +/- Project Based Vouchers. Indian Trails Camp/IKUS will provide the PSH/special needs leadership and services. The 1st floor is 23,500 square feet. Twenty Five (25%) percent or 5,875 SF of the 1st floor is poised to be built out as a community day center for those with special needs from Kent and surrounding counties and managed by staff of Indian Trails Camp/IKUS. The Community Day Center will be designed to offer a 1) computer lab 2) vocational center 3) art studio and 4) exercise and fitness center. The 132 residential units with be located on floors 2-7. The remainder of the 1st floor (17,625 SF) will be leased out in a market rate commercial setting at $14.00/SF NNN.

Keeler Flats I & II will enhance the vitality of downtown by infusing energy into the historic Keeler Furniture Exhibition Building. By reusing and restoring the Keeler Building to its optimized state Keeler Flats, LLC will yield 132 residential units and 23,500 square feet of commercial space for the community and tenants benefit(s). The site 56 N. Division Ave., has a 97 WalkScore and Nine (9) transit stops less than 1/10th of a mile from the building’s door step. Keeler Flats will expand both the City of Grand Rapids employment base as well as the residential population. Using the Implan methodology Keeler Flats is estimated to 231

Investment Property Advisor

Sperry Van Ness
Investment Property Advisor
Company Name
Sperry Van Ness
Dates Employed
Mar 2015 – Present
Employment Duration
2 yrs 11 mos
Location Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan Area

Buyer Representation, Seller Representation, Development – Mixed Use, Mixed Income, Mixed Finance, Capital Structure + Strategy, Multifamily Communities, LIHTC Properties and Communities, Due Diligence Navigation, Ability to deliver a mix of public and private financing strategies including low-income housing tax credits, new market tax credits, bond financing, public subsidy, and real estate tax exemptions. Special needs housing. Historic preservation + Adaptive – Re-Use. Community oriented commercial settings. Service enhanced housing. Artists live/work space(s). This capital structuring leads to lower leveraged, sustainable financing, PACE, NEW AFFORDABILITY, Net Zero Energy, Eco-Districts +

Chief Executive Officer
Company Name
West Michigan Housing Alliance
Dates Employed
Jul 2012 – Present
Employment Duration
5 yrs 7 mos
Location
Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan Area
Launched a pivotal new business venture centered on a major community partner initiative for community development and affordable housing in undeserved, low-income, and disenfranchised demographics in 15 counties. Oversee all aspects of program development for technical assistance and home mortgage products, including integrating USDA Section 502 and 538 loan guarantee programs to provide free – limited cost services. Increase outreach through grassroots marketing and referrals, as well as a highly accessible website. Orchestrate new product launches. Define processes for loan underwriting, due diligence, and risk assessment. Coordinate business planning and strategy. Attained exempt status as a housing-based mission by developing compelling narratives and pro formas before filing Form 1023 to the IRS under section 501(c)(3). Gained Section 502 Direct Loan Packager Certification under the United States Department of Agriculture and the Office of the Inspector General. Secured a solid position as an emerging Community Development Institution with the United States Treasury

Morna Hallsaxton is the lead auditor for BIFMA e3 Furniture Sustainability Standard for level certification and certification auditor for Intertek’s ETL Environmental VOC emission testing. Her Interior Design degree and Masters in Environmental Design allows her to further advocate and educate students and interested parties on sustainable design and construction. Morna obtained her LEED AP for BD+C and ID+C while working as a LEED Project Reviewer for over 250 LEED 2009 projects from all over the work. As a WELL AP, she continues to discuss healthy, energy efficient design choices with friends, acquaintances and on her website EcoCreative.design.

 

Job title: Sustainable Geek … better to say Sustainable Designer

David Dye, AIA, LEED AP Homes, is a Project Architect at DFD Architecture, LLC  in Spring Lake, Michigan.  He consults on commercial projects and designs sustainable homes. He is designing a LEED home for his wife Darcy on Sebascodegan Island in Maine.   He is consulting on the renovation of the Masjid Sunnah Mosque in Grand Rapids, MI.

Mr. Dye is the Secretary of the GreenHome Institute Board of Directors.   He teaches architecture courses part-time at Grand Rapids Community College(GRCC.  He retired from GRCC in 2016, where he taught as a Professor for 18 years.

While teaching at GRCC he accomplished the following:

• Created and taught classes on sustainable residential design where students designed houses for Habitat for Humanity of Kent County (HFHKC).  One design has been built and is now one of six prototypes HFHKC uses.  Another student design is being used as the first floor for another prototype.
• Established the U.S. Green Building Council Student Group of GRCC, so students could learn sustainable design and construction.  The student group was active.  In 2010, they traveled to the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Chicago.  In 2013, they volunteered at the Expo in Philadelphia and in 2015 the Expo in Washington DC.  During February 2016, they  sponsored the MIdwest Sustainable Conference which was a 3 day conference.  Some of the speakers included local experts such as Levi Gardner who talked about “The Pedagogy of Place: Fostering Community Through Urban Agriculture” and Brett Little  who presented “Introduction into Green Rating Systems and how they compare”   The student group also helped local organizations such as Dominican Center Sisters to maintain their Michigan Native Prairie Habitat.
• Coordinated GRCC’s transfer program to Lawrence Technological University’s Master of Architecture Program. Students take the first two years of classes at GRCC and then transfer to Lawrence Tech to complete the Master of Architecture program.
• Taught courses in AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit Architecture, Construction Materials, Sketching and Drafting, and Working Drawings, developing course materials.

Mr. Dye does yoga, walks, kayaks, and bicycles to stay fit.  He travels with his wife Darcy to visit friends, relatives, and to see new places in the world.

Kris Hunter is an owner of two West Michigan based companies—Hunter Energy Resources LLC, a solar PV system design and installation firm and Global Battery Solutions LLC, an advanced chemistry battery solutions provider. She has been an active advocate for the advancement of energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy for over 10 years and has participated in many grassroots efforts to educate community members—leading seminars for faith-based organizations, educational institutions and local youth groups. Kris has been involved with the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, GreenMichigan.org, and has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association (glrea.org).