Windermere on the Lake receives six HOBI awards for green energy efficiency

Windermere on the Lake, a new eco-village featuring one of the northeast's first luxury LEED certified home, has won six HOBI Awards from the Home Builders Association of Conn. for its outstanding architectural design and innovative use of green technologies. Windermere on the Lake won in the following six categories: *Best Energy-Efficient Green Home; Best Energy-Efficient Green Community; Best Detached Home Over 3,000 s/f; Best Option (for its custom English gardens); Best Green Product or Feature (for its geothermal heating and cooling system); and Best Website/Sales Brochure. The HOBI Award is a program that recognizes builders and members of the housing industry for excellence in home design and construction, home technology and sales and marketing. The HOBI Awards were presented at this year's awards ceremony on November 4th in Southington, Conn. Windermere's sweep of the HOBI Awards follows the recent announcement of LEED certification of Windermere's Cumbria model home by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). It is one of the first luxury homes in the northeast to receive LEED certification and the first LEED certified home in Fairfield County. "We are delighted to have received these important awards from Conn.'s leading home building organization. I commend our entire development team including our LEED consultant, Steven Winter of Steven Winter Associates, and architect Roger Bartels of Bartels-Pagliaro Architects. Together, we are creating a truly unique eco-village that will serve as a prototype for innovative environmentally sensitive sustainable residential development," said Mark Hallett Robbins, president of National Realty & Development Corp.'s residential division which is developing Windermere on the Lake. The lakeside homes at Windermere on the Lake feature an array of "green" energy-saving features to be found in the market today including: geothermal heating and cooling systems, paints and carpeting with extremely low VOC levels (volatile organic compounds), high performance windows and insulation, heat recovery ventilation systems and extensive use of sustainable building materials including Forestry Stewardship Council certified flooring. The homes are also Energy Star qualified, which means they exceed the efficiency guidelines set by the Federal EPA. Located in the historic Long Ridge area, Windermere on the Lake is a conservation development with extensive and ongoing habitat management and restoration protection plans designed to ensure lifelong preservation of the property. A total of 25 acres of the site has been donated to the Stamford Land Conservation Trust, which is the largest gift in the Trust's history. An additional 25 acres is retained as permanent open space. The 74-acre property features a lake with a gazebo and a floating dock as well as several ponds with log crib habitats. The property also features wildflower and butterfly plantings as well bluebird nesting boxes. There are walking trails for residents to explore.