‘Green’ is driving force for this housing

Mainstream builders buying in
Although it remains a tiny fraction of the market, that may change. John Loyer, of the National Association of Home Builders, said the nation's largest home builders are recognizing benefits of green building.

"It's becoming a real priority," he said.

Los Angeles-based KB Home, one of the nation's largest home builders, this summer unveiled its first "California friendly" landscaped community — a 70-home development in Temecula Valley, 35 miles east of Laguna Beach in Southern California. It features drought-tolerant plants and "smart timers" that water plans according to need and that turn off when it rains.

"It's something that homebuyers are interested in," company spokesman Daniel Weidman said.

Urban Design/Development Corp., the developer of the loft condos in Chelsea, a gritty city next door to Boston, bills its Smart car plan as a first in the nation. Cambridge-based Zipcar and Seattle-based Flexcar offer car-sharing services to the general public in more than 20 cities, but typically not exclusive-use deals like the proposed Chelsea project, where they've drawn plans for 106 Smart cars, at an undetermined monthly user charge.

Project manager James Bill said they preferred an exclusive-use arrangement because access to a car is more critical in Chelsea, which has no subway station for quick commutes into Boston.

For Plano, the associate director of the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center, it's a big draw.

"You're buying your way into a community that thinks similarly, and that's appealing as well," she said.

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