Grand Rapids, MI – Bradford Station is an all-new apartment complex in the Belknap Lookout Neighborhood featuring right-sized living spaces and also achieved the all-electric living badge.

“Bazzani Construction company is committed to 100% green building certification, and so GreenStar was a natural fit for us and aligned with our new goals of building to the U.N. Sustainable Development goals and net-zero carbon.” – Peter Skornia, President, Bazzani Building Company. 

GreenStar Homes requires each project to achieve items in the five pillars of Green.

Energy | Health | Materials | Water, and Place

For energy, this project went all-electric using Mitsubishi ductless cold-weather climate mini-splits, R 26 zip walls with exterior insulation and tape sealed, reduced air leakage of less than 300 CFM per unit, and building micro units reduced energy demand in the space overall. The project achieved HERS ratings of 45 and 47 per different unit types.

“Conventional wisdom is that heatpumps do not work in cold climates, and you need backup heat. We are proving that wrong here at Bradford Station. The average utility bill was $60, and the highest in winter was $90. The average energy use was 350 kWh per month, with the highest unit using 7,000 kWh in one year, with the predictions from the energy model of 5,000 kWh per month. By going all-electric and ductless, we cut costs as well on gas lines and ducts, and we can now buy renewable energy credits to go zero-carbon” – Peter Skornia, President, Bazzani Building Company.

The heatpumps come factory-charged to ensure proper refrigerant and less global warming potential from it. The runs on the hot water lines are short distances given smaller unit sizes and reduce energy and water waste.

For health, the project used the Panasonic decentral whisper comfort energy recovery ventilator (ERV), which retains lost heat from incoming fresh air, and is set to meet the ASHRAE 62.2 2010 standard. Combine this with the electric stove, this helps ensure reduced cooking emissions as well. Bathfans are energy star, and tested at 50 CFM and vented to the outdoors. GreenStar Homes requires gas leak and combustion testing because many new HVAC is found to have leaks, but that cost was avoided here by eliminating the gas line!

When it comes to materials or durability, this project features all hard flooring and surfaces, steel braided hoses on the washers, drain pans under the water heater, slab on grade construction so no basement, and a completed energy star water management checklist.

When it comes to water use the project achieve a Home Water Score of 4, which was a result of water-efficient appliances, including

Toilet 1.28 GPF

Shower 1.75 GPM

Bathroom 1.2 GPM

Kitchen aerator 1.5 GPM

Clothes Washer 4.2 IWF

Dishwasher 3.1 GPC

The project was also inspected for leaks and proper water pressure.

The last was the place and this included as a requirement avoiding the floodplain which this project was built in flood factor 1 of 10. It also has a walk score of about 50, access to public transit, high housing density per buildable land, and re-used and existing lots instead of taking up green space.