Juanita Farmhouse cottages, built by John Buchan Homes, accomplished just that. Comprising nine new cottages and a common house/barn that includes a guest apartment, it achieved both Built Green 5-Star and Built Green Communities certifications in 2018.

Built Green Highlights

Site and Water

The cottage development wraps beautifully around a central garden court, with generous porches and the common house helping create a sense of community. Many existing trees were carefully maintained and included in the final landscape, which features walkways, benches, and a terrace in front of the common house.

The common house includes a barn-like garage, a community room, and a kitchen off the large porch. The shared guest apartment is available to all community owners.

The site is provided with infiltration swales for roof water drainage that are integrated with native and drought-tolerant landscaping, utilizing all pervious surfaces except for part of the shared driveway. Indoor water use is reduced by the use of low flow fixtures and WaterSense toilets.

Energy Efficiency

The cottage homes are conventionally framed with enhanced insulation and ground-source heat pumps for top tier energy efficiency. Other energy efficiency features include:

• Walls are blown-in blanket (BIBs) R 23
• Windows are double-pane low-e argon units with .27 u value
• Ground-source heating and cooling for best-in-class energy efficiency
• Duct system pressure tested for very low leakage
• Low-flow devices on sink and shower fixtures
• ENERGY STAR appliances and 80 percent LED lighting

Because of the trees, not all of the homes have good solar access. The two cottages at the south east corner of the site are wired as “solar ready.”