Zionsville Building on Green Initiatives
By: Jessica Kiefer
December 6, 2009
In Zionsville, eco-friendly initiatives are being built from the ground up. As 2010 approaches, construction will begin on a progressive subdivision that will eventually become a green neighborhood.
Landowner Steven Peabody said he developed the idea after seeing a trend overseas while working in Germany and France.
“There are a lot of green neighborhoods in Europe and they’re proving to be cost-efficient and popular,” he said.
Across from Turkey Foot Park, Villa Francesca will be one of the first neighborhoods of its kind in Indiana, similar to Villages of Eastmoore developing in Mooresville. Peabody said they are common in states like Colorado and Florida, but haven’t been prevalent in the Midwest because of the region’s lower fuel prices.
Midwestern homebuyers’ interest has not been a problem so far. Peabody said nine of the 22 lots, which will eventually become homes priced between $500,000 and $800,000, are already reserved.
But for some buyers, problems have come from a lack of financing.
“A lot of banks are just unwilling to provide funds for projects such as these in the current state of our economy,” Peabody said. “It has typically proven to be a bad investment.”
Bo Leffel, Villa Francesca development consultant, said the current economy and new developments don’t work well together and cause some uncertainty.
“Unless finances are approved, the project is kind of on hold right now, meaning that a definite end date can’t be determined,” he said.
But from a long term perspective, the investment is to a homebuyer’s advantage. The homes in Villa Francesca will offer savings in energy bills and benefits from government incentives for the use of certain appliances and construction materials.
One such feature is the geothermal heating and cooling unit that will be used for all the homes.
Kai Yu, of Carmel-based Kai Yu Homebuilders, has completed the layout for the 22 lots and said the main unit, called a central loop, will be installed underground before construction begins. It will draw on the earth’s natural temperature fluctuations, along with sunlight and elevation effects, to heat and cool the homes.
Conservational building products are also being used, such as Substiwood, a cost-effective concrete lumber that serves as an alternative to wood purchased from a mass distribution center. Some construction materials are being made from fly ash, which Yu said is a recyclable substance derived from coal-burning furnaces.
Yu said the goal will be to add enough green elements to make the homes LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. But his most challenging task has been just that – adding more green features while still accounting for the most important facet: the buyers.
“The more we add to make it green, the more the buyers have to be willing to pay,” he said. “There’s a lot we can do to be green, but it does cost a lot more.”
Provided the finances are approved by January, Peabody said they are projecting a start to construction in late spring, and an end date sometime in October.
Attached to Villa Francesca is Zionsville’s multi-purpose path on Turkey Foot Road, which connects residents to Turkey Foot Park and nearby Eagle Creek.
The Zionsville Pathways Committee has been implementing similar pathway projects in the community since 1985. Committee member Bernie Paul said the goal behind the projects is to increase connectivity and recreational opportunities within the town and its neighborhoods, while at the same time decreasing the number of cars on the road.
“It’s not so much a mass transit alternative, but it is a transportation alternative within the community,” he said. “Lots of people want to bike or walk to the village, but they don’t feel they can do it safely.”
In 2010, the committee is implementing a pathway off of State Road 334 between Michigan Road and Lions Park where neighborhoods would like better access to Eagle Creek and Zionsville’s historic downtown village.
A more extensive pathway project will connect Zionsville residents with nearby communities. “The goal is to eventually connect Whitestown and Lebanon with Zionsville so people will be able to ride their bikes there if they want to,” Paul said.
While Paul said it is rewarding to see people using the paths, he said more people would likely take advantage of them if they were aware of eco-friendly reasons to do so.
To accomplish this, the recently established Zionsville Green Committee will be tasked with increasing awareness among community members, as well as executing cost-effective environmental initiatives for the community.
Introduced Oct. 15 as a subcommittee of the Greater Zionsville Progress Committee, the Green Committee took more than 18 months to form. Town Council Vice President Michelle Barrett, who originally pushed for the committee’s creation, said that there are actually many environmentally conscious people which made it difficult to select committee members.
“So many people aren’t aware, but as we found during interviews [of potential committee members], there are many people who are so aware and have so many plans as far as green initiatives are concerned,” she said.
Barrett said that results of a general town survey show that Zionsville residents do have a concern for the community environment.
“We listed seven [ideal] budget items for 2010, and fairly consistently ‘green spaces’ was listed in the top four. This made [the committee] kind of say, ‘Wow, we do have community support here,’” she said.
During its short existence, the committee has already purchased bigger bins for town recycling and has worked to increase the types of plastics taken by Ray’s recycling services.
In 2010, Green Committee projects will include an audit of town light usage to consider replacing light bulbs, as well as the construction of bike racks.
“We went through Main Street and realized there are no bike racks, and here we are telling people that they should start riding bikes more but there is no where to put them,” Barrett said.
The Green Committee will also add a “green tip” to the Town Council’s electronic newsletter distributed each week, giving community members small ideas to increase environmental awareness.
Coupled with the development of a green neighborhood, Barrett said she is optimistic about changes resulting from even the smallest projects.
“They will make people more aware and will in turn serve the community well, especially as the economy improves,” she said.
