Each year, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recognizes leading projects and developers in the residential green building space. This year marks the 15th annual LEED Homes Awards, where recipients fall into the categories of Outstanding Single Family Projects, Outstanding Multifamily Projects, Outstanding Affordable Projects, Outstanding Developer, Project of the Year, and LEED Power Builders.
The 2023 LEED Homes Awards winners in the multifamily space represent green, LEED-certified buildings designed to provide clean indoor air and reduced energy consumption. Here are the three outstanding multifamily and three outstanding affordable projects:
Outstanding Multifamily Projects
The George
San Francisco, Calif. (LEED Silver)
The George exemplifies sustainability, community, and health and wellness. Built on the mission of cultural celebration, community development, and economic and racial justice, SoMa celebrates the pride and people of generations of Filipinos throughout the city through area landmarks, businesses and nonprofit organizations.
Zero Place
New Paltz, N.Y. (LEED Platinum)
Zero Place is a groundbreaking project that showcases the potential of using existing technology to bring net zero energy to multifamily buildings. The project was designed from the ground up to maximize energy efficiency and generate all of its required energy on-site.
University of California, Riverside North District
Riverside, Calif. (LEED Gold)
North District serves as the home away from home for more than 1,500 students. The project features a mix of affordable one-, two- and four-bedroom units, accommodating students with diverse economic profiles, with pricing remaining consistent with older on-campus accommodations.
Outstanding Affordable Projects
Orenda at Othello Square
Seattle, Wash. (LEED Gold)
Orenda authentically represents a community-centered design and supports the health and wellness of a resilient neighborhood. As a seven-story mixed-use development, Orenda achieved Gold certification under LEED Homes Multifamily Midrise. Low-flow water fixtures and the landscape palette minimize the water needed for irrigation. Attention was paid to materials to promote wellness by selecting those that minimize the off gassing of chemicals, using durable, water-resistant products, and ensuring good ventilation.
The Creamery
Kalamazoo, Mich. (LEED Platinum)
The Creamery is part of a long-term multi-year development in partnership with the city, and it worked with the local community over many design charrette meetings to determine what best would serve the residents on this former brownfield site.
They also partnered with the Kalamazoo YMCA to boost the mixed-use space to "create Michigan's first comprehensive early childhood learning center that includes first, second, and third shift twenty-four-hour drop off day care services.
Jefferson Park Apartments
Chicago, Ill. (LEED Gold)
5150 Northwest Highway is a 75-unit, mixed-income apartment community in Jefferson Park for veterans, persons with disabilities, seniors and families that is located in a prime location for public transit and community resources.
Bonus: Outstanding Developers
AMLI Residential (United States)
TriPointe Home (Arizona)
Red Sea Global (Saudi Arabia)
Related Stories
| Oct 13, 2010
Apartment complex will offer affordable green housing
Urban Housing Communities, KTGY Group, and the City of Big Bear Lake (Calif.) Improvement Agency are collaborating on The Crossings at Big Bear Lake, the first apartment complex in the city to offer residents affordable, eco-friendly homes. KTGY designed 28 two-bedroom, two-story townhomes and 14 three-bedroom, single-story flats, averaging 1,100 sf each.
| Oct 13, 2010
Residences bring students, faculty together in the Middle East
A new residence complex is in design for United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain, UAE, near Abu Dhabi. Plans for the 120-acre mixed-use development include 710 clustered townhomes and apartments for students and faculty and common areas for community activities.
| Oct 13, 2010
Community center under way in NYC seeks LEED Platinum
A curving, 550-foot-long glass arcade dubbed the “Wall of Light” is the standout architectural and sustainable feature of the Battery Park City Community Center, a 60,000-sf complex located in a two-tower residential Lower Manhattan complex. Hanrahan Meyers Architects designed the glass arcade to act as a passive energy system, bringing natural light into all interior spaces.
| Oct 12, 2010
The Watch Factory, Waltham, Mass.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards — Gold Award. When the Boston Watch Company opened its factory in 1854 on the banks of the Charles River in Waltham, Mass., the area was far enough away from the dust, dirt, and grime of Boston to safely assemble delicate watch parts.
| Sep 13, 2010
Richmond living/learning complex targets LEED Silver
The 162,000-sf living/learning complex includes a residence hall with 122 units for 459 students with a study center on the ground level and communal and study spaces on each of the residential levels. The project is targeting LEED Silver.
| Sep 13, 2010
Committed to the Core
How a forward-looking city government, a growth-minded university, a developer with vision, and a determined Building Team are breathing life into downtown Phoenix.
| Aug 11, 2010
Brown Craig Turner opens senior living studio
Baltimore-based architecture and design firm Brown Craig Turner has significantly expanded its housing design capabilities and expertise with the launch of its new senior living studio.
| Aug 11, 2010
CTBUH changes height criteria; Burj Dubai height increases, others decrease
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)—the international body that arbitrates on tall building height and determines the title of “The World’s Tallest Building”—has announced a change to its height criteria, as a reflection of recent developments with several super-tall buildings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Morphosis builds 'floating' house for Brad Pitt's Make It Right New Orleans foundation
Morphosis Architects, under the direction of renowned architect and UCLA professor Thom Mayne, has completed the first floating house permitted in the U.S. for Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans.The FLOAT House is a new model for flood-safe, affordable, and sustainable housing that is designed to float securely with rising water levels.
