This luscious home in Portico on the Green in Minnetonka, featured in our 2008 Luxury Home Tour, has won national recognition for its use of green construction and building materials from the Forest Stewardship Council. Eden Prairie builder Keith Waters & Associates, Inc. and WD Flooring of Minneapolis won first place in residential construction at the annual awards at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Phoenix.
The award recognizes builders committed to using FSC-certified wood and creating a marketplace that promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable forest management. The national award is an honor for the house that was the first home in the state to receive Silver Certification through the Minnesota GreenStar pilot program. The home’s red birch flooring and cherry and popular woodwork is 100 percent FSC; more than 70 percent of the framing lumber is FSC. The home also features a slate-look roof of recycled rubber and plastic, a permeable-paver driveway, solar hot-water heating, and high efficiency heating and cooling. “We’re learning more and more about steps you can take and choices you can make to make homes environmentally responsible,” says Keith Waters, president of Keith Waters & Associates.
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