Monday LEEDoff: Syracuse Prof’s Skaneateles Home Earns New York’s First LEED-H Gold Rating

At the risk of stealing some of Paul’s thunder for next month’s Upstate New York Green Real Estate Report, the LEED-H Pilot Program has certified its fourth Gold-rated home in the country and the first here in New York State, just outside Syracuse in the town of Skaneateles. Elet Sangrey Callahan, a professor at the Syracuse Whitman School of Management, owns the three-bedroom home, which was built Kevin Stack, president of Northeast Natural Homes and a partner in the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems. Stack notes that “[s]ustainable building has actually become the more cost-effective way to build, especially when externalities are factored in.” The Callahan House is one of four designated by NYSERDA as a demonstration home to educate builders about sustainable materials, systems, and construction. (Image above via Syracuse CoE). Green design features include a radiant floor heating system, dual flush toilets, vegetation protection during construction, a two-stage, recycled bio-mat septic system, value engineering which eliminated unnecessary timber from the home’s structural framing, and the purchase of 100% locally-generated green (wind) power for all on-site construction activities. And, as you can see above, the end product looks pretty terrific.

• LEEDing the Way: NY's First Gold LEED Home (Syracuse CoE)
• GBC Certifies First N.Y. Home (Biz Review)