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November 8, 2007

K2 CEO announces plans for green building standards

Steve Liner
From the TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT

Listen to audio from the WFSU report [MP3]


Tallahassee builder and developer David Wamsley, CEO of K2 Urbancorp, is on hand in Chicago today for formal announcement of new green building standards by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and has an announcement of his own.

The council will formally adopt and unveil its standards at midday today at the completion of a national USGBC conference, according to Steven Winter, who guided the effort to create the standards as the USGBC's former chairman. At the same time, Wamsley is taking the opportunity to announce his company will only build homes that meet the tough new standards.

"We are incredibly proud to be at the forefront of what is becoming a national movement in home building", Wamsley said.

K2 Urbancorp is in the second phase of its Evening Rose mixed-use project.The $80 million, 36-acre development is designed for 132 homesites and a walkable town center with more than 120,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, commercial and live-work space. The project is classed urban infill and is located just north of Mahan Drive with an entrance off Capital Circle Northeast. Construction of the first homes in the development is complete and USGBC certification for two of them is anticipated this month, Wamsley said.

"Building the highest quality homes and meeting the industry's strictest standards for sustainability, environmental construction and energy conservation from the ground up is the future of homebuilding in America," he said. "We are demonstrating that this can be accomplished without increasing the cost of a home to consumers."

"It's inspiring to see a builder truly be innovative and to apply these rigorous national standards to every home they build going forward," said Winter, who chaired the council from 1999 to 2003. "Just wait until the public gets a chance to see what K2 Urbancorp is doing down there."

The U.S. Green Building Council anticipates its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating System will become the nationally accepted benchmark for high-performance green buildings. The voluntary rating system addresses design, construction and operation of green buildings, giving building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their building's performance, Wamsley said.

LEED was created to help builders achieve sustainability by recognizing performance criteria in five key ares of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

Wamsley was one of the developers invited by the council to attend the conference and announcement.