Rancho Cucamonga, Calif – Encanto Village, San Ysidro Village, and Vista Grande Court (shown above) are the latest National CORE communities to be awarded LEED certification at the Gold level by the U.S. Green Building Council. Encanto Village, located in the Encanto neighborhood of San Diego, finished construction in December 2019, and now is home to 65 individuals and families, including eight formerly homeless veterans and their families. Vista Grande Court in Glendale celebrated its Grand Opening in February 2020 and provides 65 spacious apartment homes for seniors, ages 62 and better. San Ysidro Senior Village in San Diego just welcomed new residents to this beautiful community, providing 51 studio apartment homes for formerly homeless seniors.
“National CORE is dedicated to the design and construction of cost-contained, high-performance affordable housing that integrates energy efficiency and sustainability into each development and each home,” said National CORE President and CEO Steve PonTell.
Encanto Village in San Diego, California
To qualify for LEED Certification, developers must pass a rigorous set of design and building guidelines that go above and beyond what is prescriptively required by most states across the U.S. All three communities were designed and constructed with energy efficiency in mind, combining robust building envelopes with high-quality insulation, high-performance HVAC, and highly efficient hot-water heating systems.
Only the highest-quality building materials and finishes are used at National CORE’s affordable housing communities to provide filtered, clean indoor air for all apartment homes and common areas. Water conservation is taken into consideration in the design, with the installation of high-efficiency plumbing fixtures and landscape irrigation, meeting EPA Water Sense standards. Through a dedicated capital improvements team, National CORE continually updates and improves efficiencies and sustainability at all National CORE communities – ensuring that energy and performance targets are met, even years after the initial construction.
“Building high-quality, service-enhanced affordable housing allows National CORE to lower operational costs and to do our part in reducing our carbon footprint over the lifetime of the development. We are then able to pass those savings to our residents through lower utility bills,” said National CORE Director of Sustainable Design Tim Kohut. “I hope to showcase what is possible in the future for sustainable development and create a pathway for others to follow.”
San Ysidro Senior Village in San Diego, California
In 2019, National CORE became the first developer to sign on to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2030 Commitment, an initiative that provides architects, engineers, developers, and owners with the resources necessary to design and develop communities that combat the effects of climate change. National CORE also was awarded Power Builder distinction by the U.S. Green Building Council’s 2018 LEED Homes Awards, an honor that celebrates builders using LEED to improve quality of life for residents, reduce a building’s impact on the environment, and create healthier and more resilient communities.
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About National CORE (National CORE)
National CORE based in Southern California, is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit developers of affordable housing. National CORE manages nearly 9,000 affordable, senior, and market-rate units in California, Texas, and Florida. National CORE’s strength is in its ability to offer partners an array of in-house capabilities that navigates the complexities of planning, developing, building, managing, and providing supportive services. For more information on National CORE, please visit www.nationalcore.org.
About the U.S. Green Building Council & LEED
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is committed to a sustainable, prosperous future through Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the leading program for green buildings and communities worldwide. LEED is the world’s leading green building project and performance management system, delivering a comprehensive framework for green building design, construction, operations, and performance. Today’s version of LEED, LEED v4.1, raises the bar on building standards to address energy efficiency, water conservation, site selection, material selection, day lighting, and waste reduction. For more information about the LEED program or the U.S. Green Building Council, visit https://www.usgbc.org/.
Media Contact
Jill Van Balen
jvanbalen@nationalcore.org
(909) 204-3434
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