Unique Green Home First Completed Under Arlington's Special Use Permit

We are very proud to have just finished building one of the greenest houses in the county! 

This unique single-family home, located on the first pipestem lot to be developed in Arlington County under a new special use permit process, features a living green roof and an advanced storm water management system.



Green Living Roof Under Construction

The new 3,100 square foot, 4 bedroom, 3 ½ bath home, located at 2617 N. Nottingham St., is the first house built under Arlington County’s Use Permit process, established after the county changed its zoning ordinances for pipestem lots. The permit process included extensive collaboration among Arlington Designer Homes, county staff, neighbors and community members, and resulted in a green design that is truly one of a kind.

Responding to county and neighborhood priorities, we committed to extensive storm water management techniques and practices. Our new home showcases what in-fill construction of the future will look like. In fact, the lot will produce less storm water runoff post-construction than it did prior to development.

These storm water management techniques include multiple rain gardens, native plants and grasses, permeable pavers and a living green roof. The Liveroof® system is a modular system where sedum plants that serve to absorb rain and protect the roof are grown in trays and then transported to the building site ready to go. The advantage to this system is that you can install a fully planted green roof in a day.

The house also features an advanced insulation package including both cellulose and spray foam insulation, Energy Star Jeld-wen windows, a high-efficiency furnace with a heat pump, 1.28 gallon per flush toilets, pre-finished flooring and siding, and PVC trim for a low maintenance exterior. It will be certified under the Energy Star 3.0, Arlington County Green Home Choice, and Home Innovation NGBS Green Certified programs (expected).

Our new green home located at 2617 North Nottingham Street in Arlington will be open to the public and prospective buyers this Sunday, April 7, from 1pm to 4pm. Come check it out!

Follow the Construction of our Newest Green Home

Arlington Designer Homes, Inc. is proud to announce that we have submitted our building permit for a new single family home that we are building at 2617 N. Nottingham St. You might have seen us and this property in the news recently. This pipestem lot was created in 1969 and has been taxed as such since its creation, but in 2003 the Arlington County Board changed the building application rules for these types of lots.

Last summer, we became the first applicants in Arlington to file for a type of Special Use Permit under the new application rules for this type of lot. Arlington was a little unsure how to proceed with this new type of permit application, and so out of an abundance of caution, they chose to defer the decision until February. Throughout this time we worked diligently to develop a plan that would meet the needs of our customers, the neighborhood and Arlington County.

Through this process, we came up with a design for the home that will make this a truly unique North Arlington home.  This home will feature a flat green roof, pervious pavers, a bio-rentention area, designated rain gardens, and many, many more features that will help address future rain runoff issues. We plan on creating a site where there is less outfall (runoff water) after the home is built than before. This is just one of the many factors that will make this house so unique, and we are really excited to have the opportunity to build such a one-of-a-kind home here in Arlington County.

We anticipate this new Green Eco-friendly home being built to the Gold standard for both The National Green Standard and Arlington County Green Home Choice standards. This sustainable new home will be a joy to build and an even bigger joy to live in! We anticipate putting the home on the market in January 2013.

Because there's been so much interest in this unique lot and building process, and because this house will have so many special green features, we're going to post a weekly construction blog throughout the duration of the building process. We hope it will be useful resource for other homeowners and builders in Northern Virginia, and for anyone interested in green homes. Stay tuned!