The New York State Association for Affordable Housing recently called on state leaders to prioritize the development and preservation of affordable housing with sustained funding for the state’s affordable housing crisis, and highlighted the success of one local project in the process.

Among projects being lauded statewide is Rome’s Dewitt Clinton Apartments, developed by DePaul Properties. An 80-unit supportive and affordable development project, it revitalized the former DeWitt Clinton Elementary school site that had long sat vacant.

It is for good reason the following projects received LEED Homes Awards for 2020 in the Affordable Housing category. Each stands as an example of what is possible in that realm of development when energy efficiency, social equity and high design are combined for the betterment of people and place. It is uncommon for a housing project to be ideally located, sustainably designed, architecturally pleasing and attainable for local residents who are often marginalized. All three buildings hit every mark, setting an example for widespread affordable housing reform.

Profiles of three outstanding affordable housing projects recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council in its LEED Homes Awards

LEED Gold Affordable Housing at Freedom Commons

Freedom Commons, in Syracuse, N.Y., is a  $15 million project that is the result of collaboration between the Center for Community Alternatives and Syracuse Housing Authority. The project was developed and designed by Norstar Development USA and Sustainable Comfort. (All photos: Sustainable Comfort).

This award recognizes a NESEA Member early in their career for their current engagement and their demonstrated potential to continue to meaningfully affect the future of NESEA.

Almost a dozen Central Mass. companies were named to Inc. magazine's 2020 list of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies in the world.

The third company to land in the top 1,000 was Sustainable Comfort, a Worcester renovation company, which logged at 499% growth and ranked in the 934 spot. 

Inc. 5000 2020: An Exclusive Guide to America’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs

These are the stories of the fastest-growing privately-held companies in the U.S.

Awards recognize projects, builders and developers committed to creating healthy, sustainable and resilient homes

Washington, D.C.— (July 14, 2020) — Today, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the recipients of the annual LEED Homes Awards. The awards recognize LEED-certified residential projects that are positively impacting communities through sustainable, healthy and resilient design, as well as builders and developers who are helping to advance green home building. Recipients represent multifamily, single family and affordable housing projects from around the world, including the U.S., Mexico and Turkey. This year’s Project of the Year is Park Mozaik A Block in Ankara, Turkey.

AIA New York State, in partnership with the New York State contracting agencies, created the Excelsior Awards in 2014 to provide a model of excellence for state-funded building design, landscape architecture, and public art, including professional practice and advocacy.

USGBC's annual LEED Homes Awards recognize some of the most innovative and transformative LEED-certified residential projects and the teams that made them happen all around the world.

For the second year in a row, the USGBC LEED Homes Awards has opened up the voting for the Project of the Year to the public. Here is your chance to support the project that you feel best represents excellence in green building. Our judges used these elements when making their decisions on all the awards categories—please feel free to use the same criteria when making yours: impact/equality, design, sustainability, and health and wellness.

The town of Maynard has a challenging problem: The once stately Calvin Coolidge School, 12 Bancroft St., is now a neglected eyesore. Constructed in 1906, costs to bring the facility up to current building codes are estimated at $4 million. The estimated $400,000 demolition cost makes redevelopment of the site, or playground expansion unfeasible. As a result, the school sits empty, continuing to decay and costing Maynard taxpayers over $40,000 per year.

Worcester residents really love their homes. In a nationwide survey of how long people stay in their houses, Worcester ranked 10th with an average of 17 years. That’s up from nine years a decade ago, according to research by Redfin, the national Seattle-based real estate brokerage.

Pedestrians can seem in Worcester to be a group that only exists at crosswalks. Unless you yourself walk around the city, your interactions may only be a delay at a busy light or the occasional jaywalker. Worcester is a car city through and through, and little attention is paid to the plight and problems of those who walk.

Andrea French is the vice president of Sustainable Comfort Inc., which celebrated its fifth anniversary last week. Sustainable Comfort is a green property management firm focused on Worcester’s multifamily housing stock.

For the last five years, Sustainable Comfort has been preserving some of Worcester's raddest homes, the triple decker! We caught up with President/CEO Albert LaValley, to talk about SC's mission, as well as his work with Simjang and deadhorse hill. Bert also fills the guys in on his favorite twitter follow and a drink that will for sure be at our holiday party, duh.

For generations, the triple decker home provided a reliable path for thousands of immigrants who dreamed of becoming homeowners. But, today, things are changing.

Andrea French is the VP of Sustainable Comfort, a property firm that designs thoughtful buildings with minimal environmental impact while maintaining the architectural integrity of Worcester’s housing stock. Andrea talks about setting goals and shaping attitudes in both her personal and professional life. 

We are proud to announce the winning Developers and Design Teams and spotlight the visionary projects. The winning buildings demonstrate that our low carbon future is beautiful, livable, and 100% possible.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the completion of a newly constructed $12 million affordable housing development in downtown Rochester. Charlotte Square on the Loop is the first residential development in Rochester's Inner Loop East Transformation project, the city's effort to convert the 1950's era below-grade Inner Loop highway into a vibrant, walkable, safe, and at-grade residential and commercial community. The development has 50 affordable and supportive apartments.