Let’s Go Green: Green Building Resources

Team Diva believes that green construction is not merely a luxury available to a select few. Everyone deserves a safe and sustainable home. A house built with substandard materials can be toxic, both literally and figuratively, harming its residents with hazardous materials and depressing its neighborhood with poor design. Beyond this, poor building practices deplete more resources and create more waste, creating negative effects far and wide. Luckily we live in Seattle, where sustainable construction has long been encouraged by the city and creative folks have set the bar high for others.

For as long as Team Diva can remember, Seattle has been pro-green. After a little research, even we were amazed by how much the local government has done to promote green building practices in Seattle. The City of Seattle gave early incentives to developers for better site planning, responsible water usage, and green multi-family developments. Ever wonder why the majority of new townhomes are built green? Thank a 2002 Built Green Multifamily Incentive program launched by the city! Here are some more resources for the local greenie.

Green Resources for Your Renovation

Built Green — Unique in the Nation: Seattle is also lucky to have the Master Builders Association support and certify green building practices in King and Snohomish Counties through Built Green, which launched in 1999. Built Green holds annual competitions for low-environmental-impact homes to inspire innovative design and site-planning. The superb results are documented in case studies for other builders to follow, making Seattle’s real estate market one of the most progressive in the country.

The Environmental Home Depot: Ecohaus opened their first store in Seattle in 1992 to supply eco-friendly building materials, everything one might need to renovate or build an efficient and low-impact house. Think of it as the green Home Depot. Just recently, Ecohaus opened a new store in San Francisco — but remember they were here first!

Green Builders We Know and Love: Demand for sustainable homes has increased in the last few years and developers are taking note. Green built houses tend to sell faster and at a higher price than the average home. It seems that building green has its own material rewards, but it takes effort and innovation and we applaud builders who are willing to invest in sustainable practices. We have a few favorites who we think are miles above the rest. Greenleaf Construction and G-Projects have consistently explored new territory in design and building methods.

Why Do the Divas Prefer Green Built New Construction?

Team Diva makes a point to show green home options to our buyers. We love sustainably designed and renovated homes for their unique qualities. Plus, we truly believe that all who work in real estate should work to build and sell homes that have low environmental impact and contribute to the health of the residents and the community.