Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Friday, March 28, 2008

Onalaska development to feature 30 Energy Star certified homes, a first in Wisconsin

By JOE ORSO | La Crosse Tribune

ONALASKA, Wis. — Julie Henley says she’s green but also practical.

While her 30-home development in Onalaska will dramatically increase the number of energy-efficient homes in the Coulee Region, she also wants those homes to sell.

And being environmentally conscious, she hopes, will help make those sales happen.

Savannah Village, Henley’s first project as a developer, is the first neighborhood in Wisconsin in which all the homes will be Wisconsin Energy Star certified, meaning they’ll meet standards for energy efficiency set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

“For so long there’s been the fanatic, crazy green people and the crazy oil people,” Henley said. “It doesn’t have to be that way. We can make some huge impacts while we’re waiting for the hyrdrocells to arrive in the cars.”

Construction crews broke ground in September on the Greens Coulee development, where the common grounds will be managed by a neighborhood association.

To get Energy Star certification, Henley has contracted with Eric Skinner, a certified Energy Star consultant.

Skinner does consulting with the builders before the construction begins, makes site visits during construction and tests structures after they are complete before giving certification.

Almost 850,000 Energy Star homes have been built across the nation, said Jonathan Passe, communications coordinator for Energy Star residential programs.

The Wisconsin Energy Star program, administered by Focus on Energy, has higher standards than the national program, and 9,952 homes are certified in the state.

About six to 12 other developers are planning Energy Star neighborhoods in Wisconsin, said Amy Wollangk, marketing manager for Focus on Energy.

Energy Star homes are on average about 25 percent more efficient than homes built to Wisconsin uniform dwelling code, Wollangk said.

While Henley’s is the first development to include Energy Star requirements in its covenant, Energy Star homes are not as prevalent in the Coulee Region as in other areas of the state.

In La Crosse and Vernon Counties, 103 homes have certification.

Henley hopes that number keeps growing.

“Everybody wants to do this stuff, but it’s very complicated if it hasn’t been done before,” said Henley, who was trained as an interior designer. “I want to show people that this is doable.”

She said that’s accomplished through collaboration between the developer, the Energy Star rater, the builder and the occupant.

Homes and lots will start at $330,000.

The neighborhood will feature other environmentally friendly features, Henley said, such as narrower roads that allow more water to drain through the ground. Vinyl siding is not allowed.

Homebuyers have options in how sustainable they want their design to be, and the base Energy Star design costs them about $3,000 more than it would without the design, Henley said, and that is recouped in savings in under two years.

“For me this is a huge opportunity to implement the things I truly believe in,” Henley said, “which is building beautiful things, building high quality things, building super-super energy efficient things, building as green as we possibly can.”

Joe Orso can be reached at (608) 791-8429 or jorso@lacrossetribune.com.