Blue Sea Development Company Selected as Outstanding Affordable Developer by the USGBC
APRIL 09, 2014
Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA) is pleased to announce the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has selected client Blue Sea Development Company as the Outstanding Affordable Developer Award winner in the 2013 LEED® for Homes™ Awards.
Each new construction project undertaken by the New York City affordable housing developer since 2006 has earned the USGBC’s LEED for Homes certification. Blue Sea’s longstanding commitment to building sustainable, high-quality housing is second to none in the industry. SWA has been supporting Blue Sea’s high-performance housing innovations by providing building science and energy-efficiency consulting for their projects since 2000.
Blue Sea’s initial LEED-certified project was Morrisania Homes, a 78-unit low-rise building that was accredited LEED Silver during the pilot phase of the program. Subsequently, The Eltona, a 63-unit residential building in the Bronx, achieved LEED for Homes Multifamily Midrise™ Platinum; representing the first Midrise certification in New York State, the first large-scale affordable housing installation of fiberglass windows, the first micro-Combined Heat and Power (CHP) install in the region, and included parapet-mounted wind turbines. In 2011, Blue Sea completed The Melody, a jazz-themed affordable housing project with 63 units that earned LEED for Homes Midrise Platinum. By incorporating Active Design strategies, The Melody became the nation’s first completed residential project to have earned a LEED innovation point for encouraging residents to move.
As Maureen Mahle, SWA’s Director of Sustainable Housing Services noted, “Blue Sea Development is a fearless innovator in high performance and green buildings. With each new project they raise the bar for healthy, sustainable, and affordable housing.”
Collaboration between SWA and Blue Sea was originally facilitated through funding provided by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building America program and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing, allocated for building science and energy-efficiency consulting for affordable housing projects. Over the last decade, SWA continued to provide energy modeling, consulting, testing and verification to support ENERGY STAR® and LEED for Homes certification for Morrisania Homes, The Eltona, General Colin L. Powell Apartments, The Melody, and Arbor House.
The LEED for Homes Awards recognizes projects, developers and homebuilders that have demonstrated leadership in the residential green building marketplace. The award categories recognize innovative multi- and single-family projects, production builders, affordable housing projects and developers, an overall commitment to LEED for Homes and Project of the Year. Past winners include The Puyallup Longhouse’s the Place of Hidden Waters, Clarum Communities for Cambridge Plaza, and Avesta Housing for Oak Street Lofts.
About Blue Sea Development Company
An affordable housing developer that recognizes the value and importance of resource efficiency, Blue Sea Development Company and its construction affiliate Blue Sea Construction Company has developed thousands of affordable housing units over the past 30 years. Accomplishments include having developed and built the first Energy Star (2002) Homes, LEED for Homes (2007), and LEED for Homes Platinum (2009) affordable housing developments in New York State.