The City of Boise is now accepting nomination for the 2012 Building Excellence Awards for building projects that increase the quality of Boise’s built environment. The awards program recognizes businesses which recently completed building remodels, upgrades and additions that made buildings in Boise safer, more accessible to all citizens or were environmentally sustainable.

According to the City of Boise’s Planning and Development Services Director Bruce Chatterton, “these building owners, managers and construction professionals are often the unseen and unsung heroes of building safety. In some cases, they invest thousands of dollars on projects that no one sees, but which make all of us safer and improves the quality of our lives. Businesses like those honored by the Building Excellence awards help make Boise the most livable city in the country.”

The City of Boise is now taking nominations for the Building Excellence 

Best Life-Safety UpgradeAwards in three categories:

• Best Accessibility Upgrade
• Best New “Green Building” or Green Building Upgrade

To qualify a project must:

• Be located within Boise City limits
• Be completed or substantially complete between May 1, 2011 and April 30, 2012

The City will present up to two awards in each category and the winners will be selected by a committee which includes the City of Boise Building Official, City of Boise Fire Marshal, local architects and others. The awards will be presented at the Building Owners and Managers Association luncheon in May.

“Healthy, high performing residential projects don’t have to cost more, and that is evidenced in many of this year’s winning projects” said Nate Kredich, Vice President, Residential Market Development, USGBC. “LEED builders continue to push the envelope in areas of innovation and affordability, and so we tip our hats to the dedicated leaders represented in this year’s winners circle.”

ActiveWest Builders (AWB) was recognized as the winner in the Outstanding LEED-Home Production Builder category for its Meadow Ranch Development in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Certified as a LEED® for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) project, Meadow Ranch embodies the ideals of livable, healthy and efficient community design. Dennis Cunningham designed the project with an aging population in mind, as it was developed to meet the changing needs of active adults looking to downsize but maintain homeownership. Furthermore, AWB was also a Finalist in the Outstanding Commitment category.

All of the homes in Meadow Ranch are built to the stringent standards of USGBC’s LEED for Homes Certification Program. A LEED-certified home is designed and constructed in accordance with the rigorous guidelines of the LEED for Homes criteria. LEED for Homes is a consensus-developed, third party-verified, voluntary rating system which promotes the design and construction of high-performance healthy green homes. In 2011 AWB will have over 32 LEED Platinum or Gold homes registered or certified.

“Living in a LEED-certified home not only means you will be saving money and precious resources, it also means that it’s more durable than a non-certified home “The quality of the products and the different green strategies used within the home means that its owners will be enjoying their high-performing home for years to come. “While demand for traditional residential construction is slowing, the green housing market continues to grow and Meadow Ranch is a great example of why this is,” continues Nate. “LEED certified homes are healthier places to live, produce lower utility bills, have better air quality, and leave a smaller environmental footprint behind.”

According to Dennis Cunningham, President of ActiveWest Builders, the developer and builder of Meadow Ranch, “By following LEED principles we offer healthier, more energy-efficient homes and neighborhoods that revitalize an existing urban area and help preserve our environment. In 2009, Meadow Ranch won the Idaho Smart Growth & Green Building Award. In 2011, we were awarded LEED-ND Certification, and finishing up 2011 with Outstanding LEED-Home Production Builder on a national scale is a great achievement. This small builder in N. Idaho jumped ahead of several Fortune 500 builders like KB Homes to win this year’s category!”

The independent panel of judges included:

• Les Blueston, President of Blue Sea Development

 • Daniel Clark, Director of Facilities and Safety, Bastyr University

 • Jay DeChesere, Architect

 • Wendy Koch, USA TODAY reporter and editor, and “Green House” blog writer

 • Chad Ludeman, President of Postgreen Homes • Tom Wade, owner of Artistic Homes

 • Dan Wilson, Director of Construction, Habitat for Humanity Sacramento

This past summer Active West Builders completed a 3-story, 14-unit Student CO-OP Housing building geared for Gonzaga University students. The state-of-the-art contemporary building achieved LEED- Platinum Certification by USGBC in July. To learn more about Active West Builders you can visit http://www.activewestbuilders.com/.

To learn more about LEED for Homes, visit usgbc.org/homes.

Dennis Cunningham receives Outstanding Production Builder of the Year Award