JACKSONVILLE, FL — Ability Housing, a nonprofit developer of affordable multifamily housing, today announced that Village at Hyde Park has earned Platinum Certification under the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) Homes Standard, representing the highest level of certification.
The 80-unit multifamily housing development, located at 6480 Watergate Lane in Jacksonville’s Westside submarket, blends sustainability with affordability. Green building practices were utilized throughout the construction process to address FGBC criteria such as energy performance; water conservation; site conservation (including the use of native plants, materials and products); health, a category that considers interior environment design to control air quality and moisture, and also involves the construction team in various efforts; materials (including the use of locally produced, resource-efficient materials and recycled content) and disaster mitigation, a category that addresses resilience efforts to withstand the risks of hurricanes and wildfires, as well as pests like termites.
“Our mission is to build strong communities where everyone has a home. Being able to provide housing with low utility costs for low-wage working families is another approach for meeting that mission. We’re proud to receive this certification, which reflects our commitment to green building practices,” said Shannon Nazworth, President and CEO of Ability Housing.
Each individual unit of the 80-unit development is considered a home and evaluated as such.
“It is quite an accomplishment and shows the commitment Ability Housing has to providing high quality, affordable housing for the communities they serve,” said C.J. Davila, Executive Director of the Florida Green Building Coalition.
Mary Tappouni, President of Breaking Ground Contracting, served as the FGBC Certifying Agent for the project.
"It was a pleasure to work with Ability Housing on the Village at Hyde Park. Their balanced approach to meet its green building goals is notable. There were areas where this particular project stood out. These include energy, water and health," said Tappouni. "We are particularly proud of the efforts the entire project team made in the area of health, one of the eight areas on which this project was scored.”
Forum Architecture & Interior Design, Inc. served as the project architect. Sauer Incorporated was the general contractor.
Financing for the $18.68 million project was provided by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. and the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH).
About Ability Housing: Ability Housing is an industry-leading not-for-profit multifamily rental housing developer dedicated to creating high-quality affordable housing. We invest in communities through properties that enhance their surrounding neighborhoods, improve each community’s quality of life, and connect residents with a network of voluntary support services. For more information, visit AbilityHousing.org, like the organization on Facebook (facebook.com/AbilityHousing) and follow on Twitter (@AbilityHousing).
About the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC): The non-profit Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) is the state’s leading certifier of green homes, buildings, communities, and local governments. In 2000 FGBC brought together industry professionals from the construction, government, academic and research communities to create green standards tailored specifically to Florida. To date it has certified over 24,700 residential, commercial, high-rise, land developments and local governments participating in its certification programs. FGBC certification programs are the only standards developed with state specific criteria to address Florida’s hot-humid environment, climate, distinctive topography, unique geology, resiliency, and natural disasters. Visit www.floridagreenbuilding.org