The first green home that
Community 1st Development built in Detroit, located in the Jefferson Chalmers area, was featured on an episode of "Renovation Nation," a show broadcast on Discovery's
Planet Green last week. The home profiled was built in May 2009. It is a 1,400-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch with an attached two-car garage.
Since then, Community 1st has focused its attention on an area being called Paradise Valley Estates near Gratiot and Chene. Four new homes have been completed there, with another four currently being built. The first phase in the area will be a total of 20 homes but Mark Lewis, a Community 1st partner, hopes that his company builds many more homes in Detroit. "We can't get too far ahead of ourselves, so we're almost going on a block by block basis," he says. "(But Detroit has) so much vacant property, the bottom line for us, for our program, is an unlimited supply of lots to build homes on."
Community 1st offers five home models ranging from 1,300 to 2,100 square feet. They meet Michigan Green Built specifications and are Energy Star certified. The homes include an Energy Star Whirlpool appliance package, a high efficiency furnace and central air conditioning, enhanced wall and ceiling insulation, Energy Star light fixtures and exhaust fans and Pella windows.
The Planet Green episode featuring a Community 1st home will re-air on Tuesday, February 16 at 6 p.m. and Wednesday, February 17 at 10 a.m.
Source: Mark Lewis, Community 1st Development
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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