Green Communities Receives International Honor
Enterprise is deeply honored to be one of nine worldwide winners in the first annual Sustainable Cities Awards program. Presented in London last month by sponsors Financial Times newspaper and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the awards honor global examples of ongoing programs that exhibit new ideas and perspectives for best practices in sustainable land use.

“Those we honor today are leading positive change … and are at the forefront of design and development techniques that are land and energy efficient,” said Awards Jury Chairman Reinhard Kutscher, chairman of the management board, Union Investment Real Estate AG, Hamburg, Germany. “The jury believed that Enterprise Community Partners exhibited the highest level of expertise in its leadership, as the program moves people away from the ethos of ‘bigger is better.’”

But Enterprise could not do it alone. “We deeply appreciate the partnership of the many leading national organizations financial institutions, foundations, policymakers and community-based housing organizations working with us across the country,” said Green Communities Director Dana Bourland. “The award is recognition of our efforts together to make green and affordable one and the same.”

Enterprise Calls on Congress to Pass GREEN Act
Enterprise Calls on Congress to Advance GREEN Act
The Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods Act of 2008 (GREEN Act) is the most comprehensive green housing legislation ever introduced in Congress. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), represents a significant federal commitment to green affordable housing by authorizing new federal resources.

Enterprise Community Partners President and CEO Doris Koo testified on the bill at a recent hearing before the Financial Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. She underscored the linkages among housing, transportation, health and environmental challenges facing low-income families and urged Congress to act with boldness and vision to quickly advance the GREEN Act.

“This legislation is about going green to save green,” said Rep. Perlmutter. “This bill helps revitalize our economy by making energy-efficiency practices more affordable, accessible and achievable by consumers, businesses and government entities.”

The bill would strengthen HUD’s commitment to energy efficiency while providing needed flexibility. It would help ensure nonprofit affordable housing developers have the capacity to build green. And it would incentivize major financial institutions, the Federal Housing Administration and the government-sponsored enterprises to finance energy efficient homes affordable to low-income families, including through energy efficient and location efficient mortgages.
More on the GREEN Act | Doris Koo’s testimony (PDF,96K)

Register for the National Symposium on Green Affordable Development
Remain at the forefront of green building innovation at the Annual National Symposium on Green Affordable Housing and Community Development Aug. 7-8 in Chicago. Attendees will discover the latest on the costs and benefits of going green, learn about emerging research opportunities and hear from industry leaders who are making green and affordable one and the same. The symposium is presented by Enterprise and the Institute for Professional and Executive Development (IPED).

Rebuilding a Greener New Orleans Continues
Efforts to rebuild New Orleans as a greener city continue to gain ground thanks to Green Communities partners such as Providence Community Housing, Central City Partners and Louisiana's Office of Community Development.

For example, Providence’s 100-unit St. Bakhita Apartments will have Energy Star appliances donated by the Home Depot through Gifts in Kind International when the complex opens in December. In addition, many other homes in the 700-unit Providence development pipeline will receive the Energy Star packages.

Providence and Enterprise are integrating the Green Communities Criteria into the redevelopment of the Lafitte public housing complex in New Orleans. The new development includes 1,500 mixed-income rental and for-sale homes on the site of the former Lafitte development and the surrounding community. The redevelopment replaces every subsidized unit that previously existed. 

In addition, Central City Partners announced that the comprehensive redevelopment of the C.J. Peete public housing (PDF, 938K) community will meet Green Communities Criteria. Central City Partners is preparing the site for the development of 460 homes starting in the fall.

And Louisiana's Office of Community Development is working to incorporate green standards into the Small Rental Property Repair Program. This program is one of the state's post-Katrina housing recovery programs for rental properties of four or less units.  Enterprise created a handbook for the residents of this housing that describes the healthy and energy-efficient features of the home. It also provides information on how to maintain and maximize the benefits of these features. Small Rental Property Repair Program.

Green Communities Focuses on Native American Lands
Enterprise’s National Rural & Native American Initiative offers a series of programs aimed at promoting green development in Native American communities. The first training, held in Seattle at the National American Indian Housing Council’s Convention and Trade Show, drew more than 600 attendees.

Other training included an event at Turtle Mountain Community College in Belcourt, N.D., and the Greener Homes Summit: Creating Energy Efficient, Comfortable and Healthy Tribal Homes. The event was hosted by HUD’s Office of Native American Program in Reno.

HUD Encourages Greener Public Housing
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued guidance that “strongly encourages Public Housing Agencies to use solar, wind and other renewable energy sources and green construction and rehab techniques whenever they procure for maintenance, construction, or modernization.”

The notice describes green design, construction, maintenance and modernization and procurement principles and practices. It also cites leading green development programs as reference, including Green Communities. Read more. (PDF, 62K)

Green Communities Project Profile: The Watershed, Portland, Ore.The Watershed, a Green Communities development in Portland, Ore., provides 51 affordable homes for very low-income local seniors. Developed in partnership with Community Partners for Affordable Housing, The Watershed expects to receive silver-level certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes rating system. Among its many green features are an innovative heat recovery ventilation system and stormwater detention and treatment program. Project Profile. (PDF, 510K)