NeighborWorks Affiliates' Green Projects

Rental Developments

• Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment Services, Cambridge, MA
• Community HousingWorks, San Diego, CA
• Foundation Communities, Austin, TX
• Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership, Slayton, MN
• View Additional Case Studies in our Winning Strategies Database (search under "Green Building" or "Energy Efficiency")

Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment and Housing Services, Cambridge, MA
Trolley Square

Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment and Housing Services' (CNAHS) Trolley Square is a 40-unit sustainable design project in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It incorporates many green components, including water conservation, attention to building envelope, energy-efficient lighting and appliances, an efficient, gearless elevator, and a 42 kW solarphotovoltaic array on the roof and facade of one of the buildings that offsets the electriccosts of the underground garage.

Residents moving in to Trolley Square are given two resources:  the “Trolley Square Living Green Guide” to teach them about the green features in their new homes as well as the importance of living an environmentally friendly lifestyle; and personal assistance from a Resident Service Coordinator who can verify that the residents are making use of the green features at Trolley Square.

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Community HousingWorks, San Diego, California
Solara

Solara, developed by Community HousingWorks, is California's first apartment community to be fully powered by the sun. Solara was the recipient of the Urban Land Institute’s 2008 Award of Excellence and a runner up in The Home Depot Foundation Awards of Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly.

Community HousingWorks designed SOLARA with all 5 of the major green elements – besides renewable energy – including:

• high energy efficiency in passive design, building envelope, mechanical and lighting systems and appliances;
• Water efficiency including dual flush toilets in all apartments and native landscaping;
• Use of recycled materials including fly ash in concrete, glass in a decorative walkway, Trex decking, and play ground with soft surface made of recycled tires and bottles; 
• Indoor air quality based on recycled carpet pad and Green Label carpet, linoleum in kitchens and bathrooms, low VOC paint, fans vented to outside, bathroom fans timed with light switches to avoid mold, cross ventilation including windows in many bathrooms, wood cabinets sealed against formaldehyde, and vents sealed during construction; and
• Public art integrated into the hardscape that emphasizes sustainability. 

Located on 2.5 ground-leased acres adjacent to a floodway that has a recreational relationship to the development, Solara overcame a myriad of entitlement, financing, technical, and community challenges to become a fully-leased community of households committed to a green program.

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Foundation Communities, Austin, TX

Foundation Communities is deeply committed to building and managing affordable housing that is rooted in sustainable principles. The organization chooses to engage sustainability as a conceptual practice that addresses “green building” methods in order to improve the health of their residents, the durability of their buildings and the well-being of the environment.

Foundation Communities uses 100 percent renewable energy (solar or wind) for all their learning centers and supportive housing, making Foundation Communities one of the largest private producers of solar energy in central Texas.

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Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership, Slayton, MN
Viking Terrace Apartments

The Viking Terrace rehabilitation project involved the extensive redevelopment of three buildings of one, two, and three-bedroom apartments. The development includes substantial rehabilitation inside and outside the building. The apartments feature a wide range of improvements that focus on a reduction in energy consumption producing tangible and long-term benefits for the low-income tenants, including:

• High efficiency geothermal heating and cooling system
• Enhanced insulation of the building envelope
• Energy Star® appliances
• Water conserving appliances and fixtures
• Whole-unit ventilation system, including continuous ventilation of bathrooms
• Low-VOC pains, sealants, and adhesives
• Metal roofing
• Cement fiber siding
• Interior finish materials using recycled content
• On-site recycling of demolition and construction materials
• Radon testing, monitoring, and remediation

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