Digested from "Green Goes on a Budget"
The Wall Street Journal (NY) by Robbie Whelan
Casa Feliz, an apartment building that opened last year in San Jose, Calif., was built with modern finishes and the latest in trendy, environmentally friendly materials: bamboo floors; organic, linseed oil-based linoleum tiles; and ergonomic chairs in the lobby made from sustainably farmed wood.
But in what might come as a surprise to some, no Prius-driving, Dwell magazine-reading, upper-middle-class professionals reside there. The project was built for people who earn less than 35% of San Jose's median income of $103,500 for a family of four, or suffer from developmental disabilities.
Casa Feliz is one of a growing number of affordable-housing projects nationwide that have been built "green"—that is, with nontoxic materials, highly energy-efficient appliances, and features such as green roofs and solar panels. Thanks to tax credits designed to attract private capital and aggressive cost-cutting on other construction features, affordable-housing developers are embracing eco-friendly building features that were once the purview of high-minded designers and wealthy developers with money to spare.
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