The Best in American Living Award (BALA) - 2005

Madison Healthy Homes
Denver, Colorado (Silver Award)

Median Home Price in MSA: $220,000

Home Price: $179,700 - $183,000

Description: Madison Healthy Homes is a new development of a five-unit attached townhomes project located in a neighborhood of low- and moderate-income families who both rent and own in a high-priced housing market. The homes, priced at $179,700 to $183,000, are for first-time home buyers and affordable to families with incomes less than 80 percent of the median area income.

The developer, Northeast Denver Housing Center (NDHC), is a community development corporation that provides sustainable, healthy housing to those underserved in the market. NDHC has an in-house Design/Development Studio that developed and managed this project through the processes of land acquisition, a major zoning change, financing, architectural design, construction management, and quality control. The early-assembled development team included a consulting general contractor and structural, civil, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineers. Integral support provided by the city included an interest-free loan, a portion of which is forgivable because the homes will remain affordable per city covenant, a land lease arrangement that kept the cost of land out of the sales price, and a Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning change to allow increased density, thus spreading the cost over five units rather than two and making the units affordable. NDHC worked closely with the neighborhood association by conducting design sessions to ensure that the units reflect the early twentieth century building style and appearance of existing homes. Materials were selected for durability, longevity, and according to what would be most difficult to add later.

Making the homes energy efficient was one objective. To that end, a significant number of advanced technologies were included, such as bamboo flooring, P.E.T. carpet of recycled plastic bottles, a solar hot water system, and a programmable thermostat. Other features include upgraded roof and wall insulation, foundation walls of insulated concrete forms, a high efficiency furnace, double-glazed low-E vinyl windows, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and air sealing foam to fill gaps in the framing and around penetrations. Another objective was to make it as healthy as possible for children with features such as paint with no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a passive radon mitigation system, mold prevention, and a whole house fan for ventilation and turnover of fresh air. As for other amenities, families enjoy private backyards, two-car garages, a nearby park, and extensive landscaping.

2005 Awards Winners