Kingsbury Place - Walker, MI

As the first community in Michigan to win a Green Communities award, EnviroCitizen.org believes that Kingsbury Place is worthy of attention. One of green housing's major selling points is that it means healthier homes. The desire to create a healthier home for a community plagued by asthma and similar health issues was the driving force behind the community. Kingsbury place is a development that is not only green, but built for the health of those living there by using safe materials to build it.

Kingsbury Place is the creation of Genesis, a nonprofit housing corporation. It is the fourth housing development for low-income individuals and families with special needs. The development has 44 units in 10 buildings—29 one-bedrooms, 13 two-bedrooms and two three bedrooms. The housing will be targeted to extremely low-income and chronically homeless individuals in the Kent County area. A $93,000 grant aided in building this community. Genesis plans to receive LEED-H certification for Kingsbury Place.

Genesis is incorporating several green features into the Kingsbury Place project. A 60,000-gallon underground groundwater detention system is used to water lawns and bushes immediately around houses without having to use drinking water. On the landscape itself, native vegetation is on two-thirds of the site—including wild flowers, trees, bushes and low-maintenance landscaping.

Inside the homes there are plenty of green features as well. There is open-cell foam insulation on all walls and ceilings to reduce air drafts in the home. Each unit has Energy Star appliances. The walls are adorned with low-VOC paints and interiors. The building itself is within walking distance of two shopping malls and within 500 feet of a public transit system stop.

Because the project team received a grant, it used the Green Communities checklist of requirements as a guide to implement green features in the apartments. This project was part of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Homes project and received a Silver certification, a special designation that shows that extra efforts were made to make the building green. The team also focused on changing occupants' behaviors so that they could understand living green. They installed an individual electric meter in each apartment and provided residents with manuals detailing the benefits, use and proper care of the appliances, systems and materials in the apartments.

The community is designed so that everyone on a lower income level, including the chronically homeless, can live a healthy, safe green lifestyle. EnviroCitizen.org applauds efforts such as this one and hopes that others will follow suit.