Green concept home planned for Poplar Grove

Poplar Grove, the low-density residential development near Hollywood that will preserve more than 3,000 acres under a conservation easement, has been chosen as the second location for a Concept Home, a project of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing.

The first PATH Concept Home was recently completed in Omaha, Neb.

The project team was looking for a Southern location for their next Concept Home, said Dana Bres, director of office policy and research for PATH.

The Concept Home at Poplar Grove will serve as a model of sustainability, disaster resistance, flexibility and cost effectiveness. The Concept Home's design and technical specifications will meet the nation's most rigorous green building certification standards, including Leadership and Energy and Environmental Design for Homes; Energy Star; EarthCraft House and the National Green Building Standard.

"We're kind of the Southeast guinea pig for the PATH house, which is great," said Vic Mills, principal and chief executive of Augusta, Ga.-based Blanchard & Calhoun Commercial, which is developing Poplar Grove.

The PATH home is a good fit for the development, Mills said.

"The entire lifestyle at Poplar Grove centers around conservation and the outdoors, so the PATH house is really in keeping with Poplar Grove as a community," he said.

Mills' company has partnered with Bennett Hofford Construction to build the PATH home. A design charrette, or workshop, is planned for Oct. 24 at the site. Final plans will be presented in February 2008 and construction will begin in the spring.

as provided by Charleston Regional Business Journal