AUSTIN, TX - The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded The District at SoCo, a new state-of-the-art 215-unit luxury urban apartment community, the first LEED for Homes Gold certification for an apartment community in the Austin area.
LEED for Homes is a green home certification program that rewards communities that are designed and built to be energy- and resource -efficient and more healthy and durable for the occupants. LEED-certified homes complete a technically rigorous process that often includes a home energy rating (HERS) and onsite inspections to verify that the home is built to be energy- and water-efficient, environmentally sound and a healthier place to live.
Green homes may have substantially lower utility bills and may qualify for advantageous financing, lower insurance rates and government incentives. The District at SoCo apartments, conveniently located on Oltorf Street in Austin’s trendy South Congress area, feature ENERGY STAR appliances, energy efficient double-pane windows and programmable thermostats.
“LEED certification is a realistic way to tackle ever-rising energy costs by cutting a home’s energy use by as much as 60 percent, our case studies have shown,” said Nate Kredich, Vice President, Residential Market Development, USGBC. “Residents of The District at SoCo will be saving money year-round by living in a LEED for Homes -certified community.”
The District at SoCo is one of Austin’s newest and most luxurious apartment community. It combines the comforts of luxury urban apartment living in Austin and the unparalleled service of diamond-level hotels in a convenient Austin location second to none. The brand-new Austin apartment community is perfect for every lifestyle from active Austin professionals to serious Austin academicians to anyone seeking an eclectic urban apartment living experience only found in Austin. Exercise in the state-of-the-art fitness center, browse the internet in the cyber café, relax at the architecturally featured courtyard swimming pool, or ride the elevators to the upper floors to experience the skyline views of downtown Austin. In addition to its prestigious LEED for Homes Gold status, the community is approved under the Austin Energy Green Building Program. The District at SoCo is among Austin’s best apartment living experiences.
The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit membership organization whose vision is a sustainable built environment within a generation. Since USGBC’s founding in 1993, USGBC has grown to more than 18,000 member companies and organizations and a comprehensive suite of LEED green building certification systems. Its membership includes corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and other nonprofit organizations all sharing USGBC commitment to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings.
LEED for Homes is a third-party certification system for building and designing high-performance green homes that are energy-and-resource-efficient and healthy for its occupants. Developed and administered by USGBC, LEED for Homes awards points to projects in eight categories of environmental performance: Innovation & Design Process, Location & Linkages, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, and Awareness & Education. To date, more than 18,000 units have achieved certification with LEED for Homes program, and over 75,000 have registered and are in process.