Celebrating Earth Day, ABC Green Home 3.0 Breaks Ground in California

The ABC Green Home 3.0 Breaks Ground As Third Chapter in this Net Zero Green Building Story

By Nick Slevin

The groundbreaking ceremony for the third installment of the ABC Green Home series, the ABC Green Home 3.0, kicked off in Fullerton, Calif. Despite the abnormally hot spring weather for Southern California, many gathered around the ground site of what will soon become a cluster of three energy-efficient – one also multi-generational – Net-Zero homes, designed by Danielian Associates, built by Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, developed by Peninsula Publishing, and with plentiful materials donated by benevolent manufacturers. 

Amongst the attendees were Sharon Ellis, CEO of Habitat for Humanity; representatives from the home’s sponsors that included Southern California Edison, SoCalGas, and Gouvis Engineering; a representative from the U.S. Army; project architects from Danielian Associates; and the city Council and Mayor of the City of Fullerton, Jennifer Fitzgerald.

The ABC Green Home Project is a book with several chapters. Standing for Affordable, Buildable, and Certified, Chapter 1 was the original Net-Zero, LEED home in Irvine at The Great Park. Development partner Southern California Edison funded the project, using Peninsula Publishing advertising partners’ materials and hired BCA development to construct the house. Designed to showcase best practices in high performance homebuilding, the Net-Zero demonstration home attracted over 32,000 visitors, while over 100,000 took the virtual home tour online.

After winning The Golden Nugget Award in 2013 for Green Home Design Excellence and the So Cal Green Award later that year, ABC Green Home 1.0 is currently under reconstruction and is being recycled into two new homes, ABC 1A and 1B, in Santa Ana, Calif. After these homes are completed, they will be provided to qualified U.S. veteran families. Following in that tradition, the ABC Green Home 2.0 is a single family, multi-generational, ADA-compatible Net-Zero, LEED home in Walnut, Calif., currently under construction by Habitat For Humanity Pomona Valley.

Now the third chapter in the project, the ABC Green Home 3.0 is a cluster of three Net-Zero, LEED homes that reflect contemporary architecture in the spirit of the nearby Eichler neighborhoods. When the city generously provided the lot and specifically requested the development team reinterpret the Eichler architecture, the architectural team at Danielian Associates stepped up to the challenge.

Development Partner Southern California Edison, Presenting Sponsor SoCal Gas, the design team and product partners are all active members of the Building Industry Association of Orange County and the National Association of Home Builders, and are deeply committed to sustainable and energy efficient home building. BIAOC Executive Director Mike Balsamo attending the groundbreaking remarked “our  members are bound by law to build Net-Zero homes by 2020, The ABC Green Home Project gives voice to their commitment to sustainable home building here in California.” ABC 3.0 Developer Nick Slevin, publisher of Builder and Developer and Green Home Builder magazines, thanked the advertisers who had committed their building materials to the ABC Green Home project and the design team members who have worked so hard pro-bono to provide their architectural and engineering services to the project. “We recognize our partner’s commitments to the goals of The ABC Green Home Project and their desire to promote sustainable and high performance homebuilding design, technology, and construction, while also benefiting hard working U.S. Veteran families”, Slevin went on to thank the Fullerton city council and Habitat for their participation and contributions.

Mayor Fitzgerald reflected that the City of Fullerton is “partnering on these high performance homes as they’re the best example for the market: showcasing best practices with the best organizers, the best design and support partners, with the extra element of assistance to a veteran family. It really doesn’t get any better than this.” As the granddaughter of a WWII Purple Heart veteran, the veteran assistance aspect of the project is obviously very near and dear to her heart, as it is with anyone involved in the project.

Sharon Ellis touched on the veteran facet also, sharing how Habitat partners with the families selected to eventually own the homes. Habitat for Humanity supports them with classes in finance management to prepare them for the income-based mortgage that comes with the home. For Sharon, this is what really makes it all worth it in the end: the look on the family’s faces when they can say, “We built our home.” U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Frank Desrosiers came to the project to volunteer his construction skills on the build.

John Danielian thanked his principal architects and design team for their hard work on the project, “We are delighted to have this opportunity to provide the architecture for these very efficient Net-Zero, LEED homes, which go well beyond normal green home design and construction,” he said.

President and CEO of Gouvis Engineering Saaed Bekam is proud to lend his services to this altruistic project. For Gouvis this project encompasses two great things: conservation of the environment and support for our veterans. “We love what we do and we care about the environment and what this project means for veterans. It is something that we can do to pay society and veterans back, for those who fight for our freedom.” Gouvis Engineering who provided the structural engineering for the first two homes is proud to return as a contributor. “We’re happy this is our third project. Each has been a success.”

The construction of the ABC Green Home 3.0 can be monitored live online at this camera link: http://timelapse.ecamsecure.com/LiveStream/LiveStream  For more information on the ABC Green Home Project series, visit www.abcgreenhome.com or contact developer Nick Slevin at nslevin@penpubinc.com.

Nick Slevin is the Publisher for Builder and Developer magazine. He may be reached at nslevin@penpubinc.com.