First green building rates gold
Luxury condos hailed for sustainable design
By Peggy Hoffman, Globe Correspondent | March 4, 2007
South Boston probably isn't the first neighborhood that would have come to mind for such a building 20 years ago, but the scheduled opening this month of the Macallen Building condominiums in Southie will be the city's first condos built as "luxury green."
Towering over the corner of Dorchester Avenue and West 4th Street, the 143-unit building is expected to be the first new construction, mixed-use building to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold rating in New England.
This Leadership in Energy rating system helps translate "sustainable design" ideas into a checklist of building features. Developers earn points by building sites near mass transit, reducing water and energy consumption, optimizing indoor air quality, choosing materials with recycled or recyclable content, and purchasing these construction materials from within a 500-mile radius.
So far, residential developers have lagged behind commercial developers in their efforts to snag Leadership in Energy ratings, in part because of the perception that green buildings are more expensive to design and build.
The Macallen appears to be catering to a diverse demographic -- empty nesters, single professionals, well-to-do retirees, and young couples looking for urban starter homes -- who want luxury in a convenient, up-and-coming neighborhood. Green is a bonus.
"I had looked in the South End and Back Bay and Beacon Hill," said new owner Ryan Campbell, a designer with the architectural firm Anshen + Allen + Rothman in Boston. "It seemed like the best place to be as far as an investment. And I love the idea of a green building."
The condos range from $550,000 to $2.5 million. Tim Pappas, CEO of Pappas Enterprises Inc., the developer, said more than 50 percent of the units have been sold.
Pappas says luxury wasn't the initial purpose of the Macallen building. But luxury is what owners are getting. In Macallen, "green" luxury means double-glazed insulated windows, bamboo floors, and natural fiber carpet. Filtered fresh air is ducted into every unit. Bosch appliances, Dornbracht fixtures, and Lutron dimming switches provide energy efficiency.
But what's invisible to residents may be the most environmentally friendly.
Instead of installing separate heating and cooling systems in each unit, a central plant will heat and cool more efficiently by economizing the system for the entire building. A byproduct of that heat comingles with city steam to heat the outdoor swimming pool.
The cooling tower uses an ultrasonic-based technique to control bacteria, avoiding the standard practice of adding toxic chemicals.
Ninety-eight percent of the structural steel is recycled. Eighty-five percent of the exterior aluminum is recycled.
The flooring, walls, countertops and insulation use products made from natural materials such as linoleum, bamboo, cork, cotton, and recycled quartz.
There is no use of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gas es, considered an ozone-depleting agent, commonly used in HVAC systems.
Use of copper plumbing avoids the controversial use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a potential carcinogen according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
And by choosing nontoxic paints, coatings, adhesives and sealants, volatile organic compounds are eliminated or minimized. Environmental Protection Agency health reports link VOCs to a variety of health concerns.
Then there is the green roof, a sloped, miniature habitat of plants that cool the building in summer and insulate it in winter, reducing the urban heat island effect.
North End resident Jeff Lindholm, who commutes to Westborough every day, said the building's being green was not the deciding factor for him to buy, but, "I'm happy that it is. I feel good about it."
"Hopefully, I'm participating in making things better," he said.
Pappas wants tenants to understand what 30 percent energy efficiency means, what 30 percent water usage efficiency means, and what having a reduced need for potable water for irrigation means to the actual operating expenses to the building.
"A lot of it doesn't mean much to you from a living standpoint if we've done our jobs right. . . . But when your monthly electric bill comes, that's when you should notice it."
? Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.