A LEGACY OF BUILDING IN THE PUGET SOUND

Bellevue-based BDR Companies provides investment, development, and home construction in the Puget Sound area. With highly respected backgrounds in the residential development community, BDR executives have been recognized with major industry awards, including national Gold Nugget Awards for building excellence, Builder of the Year (twice), more than 100 industry-wide MAME Awards, and numerous Built Green recognitions.

Todd Bennett is the founder and president of BDR Companies. Prior to that, he was a principal in Bennett Homes for 30 years. In his current role, Todd puts together developer partnerships for BDR’s residential building projects. “Our partnerships mostly build homes. We have two groups: BDR Homes for homes priced under two million and BDR Fine Homes for homes priced over two million.”

MORE THAN 20 YEARS IN THE MBA HEALTH TRUST

Between Bennett Homes and BDR, Todd has been a member of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBA) for 34 years (once serving as President) and the MBA Health Trust for 21 years. “MBA’s health insurance is a big benefit for us,” says Todd. “We’ve used the Trust from the beginning. All of our employees are on our plan now. We’ve always been able to provide good coverage for them. And it’s affordable for us.”

SIGNIFICANT COST SAVINGS

The MBA Health Trust has provided Todd and his companies with consistently lower premiums. “We’ve looked at other health insurance providers, but we’ve never been able to get the same combination of cost savings plus benefits,” he says. “The MBA plan has consistently been 10-15 percent less cost, even with the big increases in health insurance premiums since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.”

REGENCE BLUESHIELD “KEEPS IT SIMPLE”

Regence BlueShield is the MBA Health Trust’s insurance partner, and Todd has had good experiences with them over the years. “The Regence plan is flexible. So far, we haven’t had a hitch at all on who we can use and what’s covered—even with large medical issues. Regence has covered most everything so far and kept it simple.”

MBA MEMBER BENEFITS ALSO INCLUDE BUILDER ADVOCACY

In addition to the MBA Health Trust, Todd’s long membership in the MBA has helped his business in other ways. Todd says the MBA has a very strong government relations group. “A great benefit to MBA membership is the advocacy role the MBA plays,” he says. “We get a common voice in the industry. Local municipalities listen to the MBA. That’s a primary benefit from a builder standpoint. The MBA gives the builders more of a collective voice. It’s very powerful. The MBA has helped get code changes that benefit the home building industry adopted, for example.”

CITIES LISTEN, PROCESSES ARE EXPEDITED

Todd cites challenges with some cities and how the MBA interceded. “We were having slowdowns with building permits and the MBA got involved and arranged a meeting with city officials. This got the process moving forward quicker.”

It’s Hot in Seattle

No question about it: Seattle’s housing market is “hot” - and the media is paying lots of attention. A recent article in The Seattle Times questioned whether Seattle is becoming the next San Francisco, which is known for its multimillion-dollar homes and sky-high monthly rents. Seattleites can’t stop talking about the “out-of-control affordability crisis,” according to an article on The Stranger’s website.

Even national news agencies are cringing at Seattle’s housing market. In fact, Money Magazine selected Seattle as one of the “Hottest Housing Markets of 2016.” Seattle has seen its median home prices rise to the highest point ever at $594,600, according to Zillow in October 2016.

All Bad?

But this “hot” housing market isn’t all bad. For Built Green, it has had some positive aspects. The Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections has a program called Priority Green Expedited that shortens the time it takes for builders to get a new construction permit if they’re building green. To be eligible, the project must be enrolled with specific green building organizations, including Built Green, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and Living Building Challenge. Plus, builders must achieve a basic set of Priority Green requirements for energy and water conservation, waste reduction, stormwater management, and indoor air quality.

In return, builders get priority in scheduling intake appointments, faster initial review of their plans, faster routing of their plans, and faster processing of their permit. All of this saves them time and money while delivering customer satisfaction and encouraging Seattle’s goal to make green building standard practice. It also helps Seattle meet its climate action goals to reduce building-related carbon emissions.

“The ‘hot housing market’ has helped to increase the total number of applicants who use Priority Green Expedited to get their permits faster,” said Jess Harris, the Priority Green Program Manager. “Over the last several years, SDCI has seen about 20% of the eligible project applications use Priority Green Expedited and a huge majority of those are choosing Built Green to reach their sustainability goals. This equates to about 200 projects a year reaching at least Built Green 4-Star.” In this hot housing market, green builders have even more of a leg up on the competition as they take advantage of these incentives.

Save time, save money, and help Seattle meet its climate action goals: register a project with Built Green today!

By Talia Haller, Built Green Intern, University of Washington Student

Founded in 1999, the Built Green Program has grown a lot in the past 17 years. To date, Built Green has certified over 16,618 projects, representing almost 30,000 units. At Built Green, we’ve focused on growing in many different ways, but there are three core growth dimensions Built Green is especially proud to see on the rise.

1. Total Number of Built Green Certifications

   During Built Green’s first full year of certifying projects in 2001, 700 projects were certified Built Green, representing 971 units. Before the recession, Built Green™ was experiencing large volumes of project certifications. While the crash absolutely affected the program, we’ve been growing ever since, even in spite of the program also growing in rigor (such as updated checklists and third-party verification being required at all levels). Last year, in 2015, more than 900 projects were certified Built Green, representing 2,387 units. This year, we’re on track to beat last year’s numbers by a significant margin. With over four months left to go in 2016, Built Green has already certified 634 projects this year, which represents 1,578 units.
   
    
   
    
   
   
2. Total Number of Builders Involved
   
   While Built Green certified a fair amount of projects in 2001 (700 projects), all of this work was done by only two builders: Quadrant Homes & Habitat for Humanity. One of Built Green’s core objectives is to be an inclusive program, available and appealing to all builders whether they’re constructing multifamily homes or single-family homes, or doing a remodel or another type of home building project. In 2005, when the housing market was on the rise, Built Green had expanded its reach more than 10-fold: During 2005, 26 builders certified more than 1,200 projects. Even better, the number of builders using Built Green to certify their projects has only continued to increase as the Built Green program gains legitimacy and recognition, as builders increasingly grow to see the importance of environmentally-friendly construction, and as demand continues to shift towards more sustainably built homes. From 2001 to 2015, the number of builders increased almost 50-fold, with over 100 builders certifying their projects last year.
   
   
   
   
3. Total Number of 4-Star & 5-Star Certifications Increasing
   
   When the program started in 2001, there were no 4-star or 5-star certified projects completed – only 2-Star and 3-Star. In fact, the program hadn’t even created parameters for these higher levels yet. But, as can be seen in the graphics below, over the years, more and more builders are shooting for ever-higher star-levels in their projects. 5-Star projects in particular are on the rise, as can be seen in the very bottom graph. At the moment, 4-Star makes up the bulk of our certifications, despite it representing a significant jump in requirements from 3-Star. Higher star-levels indicate increased energy and water efficiency measures, homes built with a larger amount of sustainable materials, and homes that will have better indoor air quality.
   
   
   
   
   
   

Takeaways?

Over the years, Built Green has been slowly building its popularity, credibility, and value in the Puget Sound region. We are proud of both the growth we’ve already achieved and the growth we see coming in the future. Stay updated on Built Green activities by following our blog! The next blog in the Built Green Growth series will explore:

• How Seattle’s Hot Housing Market Can Benefit Built Green

By My Edmonds News

Chermak Construction is going to be showing off one of its remodeled homes in Edmonds this Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 8 and 9, as part of the 2016 Remodeled Homes Tour.

Darylene Dennon, CEO of Solid Energy Inc. and MBA member since 1999, shares some of the surprising professional and personal benefits of being an active MBA member.

Join the MBA

Shannon talks to new MBA member Jeff Bumgardner of CityBldr about the benefits and opportunities that come with MBA membership.

Join the MBA

By The Money Hour with Tina Mitchell

Leah Missik with Built Green has been the program manager for about two years. As the program manager, she has grown the certification, conducted a green home study that received national attention, and was nominated for a Northwest Emmy Award for a public-facing ad campaign on the advantages of living in a Built Green® home. Prior to Built Green, Leah worked as a Renewable Energy Analyst, supporting a small-scale renewables program where a utility bought back energy at a premium rate.  In The Money Hour segment today, Leah talks about the importance and benefits of green homes and Built Green.

By Terry Phelan, Architect, Living Shelter Design Architects

Driven by increasing energy costs and a growing awareness of health risks associated with indoor air quality, there has been an increase in interest in sustainable home design choices. Studies show homeowners are willing to pay 4 to 7 percent more for sustainable upgrades, especially for those that create direct savings. Here are a few ideas you might consider that fit the bill:

Health and Ease of Maintenance

A healthy home can reduce medical bills and time missed from work or school. Improve indoor air quality with healthy building products, from glues to floor coverings. For finishes, choose easily cleanable and maintainable products made from sturdy non-toxic materials such as stone, tile, wood, recycled glass, and metal. Look for ecolabels on the materials and products you purchase.

Heating and Ventilation

Before adding the cost of a heating system upgrade or other technology to your wallet, be sure to improve the shell first—don’t put a new motor on a leaky boat! An energy assessment and a day sealing energy-wasting cracks is a wise investment for a remodel.

Heat from the Sun

Passive solar design can balance summer-shaded southerly windows with inside thermal masses, like a tile floor or stone fireplace. The thermal mass absorbs heat during the day and radiates it at night, flattening out temperature fluctuations. Even without a designated thermal mass, sun in a room can help save money on winter energy bills. Indoor thermal shades help keep heat in overnight.

An approach to outdoor shade that works well is a simple trellised deciduous vine. The leafless vines will allow the sun’s warmth in through chilly winters and the leaves filter sun in the summer.

Natural Light

Natural light can improve our mood and lower the amount of power used for electric lights. Tubular skylights are a nice way to light utility spaces like hallways and bathrooms; they are less expensive than rectangular skylights and are more energy efficient. Some find rectangular skylights more attractive, but they are hard to shade from summer sun, so use them judiciously. These offer the option of opening for natural ventilation and come in egress sizes, which can be useful for attic bedrooms.

Connecting to Nature

Everyone loves a view of nature and integrating the inside and outside expands living space without adding more square feet. Covered porches and low fences are gaining popularity, as are herb and vegetable gardens. Keep a sunny garden space in mind when planning a house or addition to increase your options for healthy, local food.

These ideas add value to any project, whether you’re building new or remodeling. The market demand for healthy, energy-efficient homes continues to grow and including these options now will protect your biggest investment. A little creativity goes a long way and comfort and human delight will never go out of style!

Terry K. Phelan is the president of Living Shelter Design Architects, a woman-owned architectural firm specializing in energy efficient custom homes, home remodels, cottage communities, and smaller community buildings. Phelan is a contributing writer to HomeMatters, a consumer publication of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties.

This week, Shannon speaks about events at the MBA with our new Events Manager, Gina Tucci.

View upcoming MBA Events

HIGH-END EASTSIDE HOME BUILDERS

Terrene Homes is a family-owned, Bellevue-based company specializing in residential building, specifically single-family and multifamily construction. Most of the 13-employee firm’s projects are on the Eastside and include both spec and design/build projects, at the higher end of quality and price. Terrene designs homes that “emphasize livability without sacrificing style, power, luxury, or comfort.” Danielle wears lots of financial and administrative hats at Terrene. “I’ve been with the company for eight years. My official title is accountant, but I also handle HR and I’m the liaison between employees and EPK Benefits, which administers our MBA Health Trust plan.”

THE MBA HEALTH TRUST PROVIDES AFFORDABLE RATES FOR SMALL FIRMS

Danielle says that it is tough for small businesses to maintain affordable health insurance. “As a company with a small number of employees, it’s hard to find coverage with affordable rates. We joined the MBA Health Trust eight years ago,” says Danielle. “We had just four employees when we first got health insurance and we now have 13 who are currently enrolled. And while remaining a relatively small firm, we’ve been able to keep insurance affordable during that whole period.”

Terrene is now enrolled in a Regence BlueShield PPO plan that provides competitive premiums. “We looked at other options,” Danielle says, “but it was most affordable through the MBA. Our monthly premium is significantly lower—around 10% savings.”

REGENCE BLUE SHIELD EXCELLENT FOR PREVENTIVE CARE

Terrene’s coverage includes Delta Dental of Washington, along with Regence, and Danielle says employees couldn’t be more pleased. “They are very happy with the Regence coverage and the flexibility and ability to see doctors they need to see, particularly in the preventive care area. We’ve had instances where employees were pleasantly surprised at what they had initially thought would be expensive out-of-pocket fees for preventive care, but they didn’t have to pay much at all.”

RESPONSIVE ADMINISTRATORS

EPK is the third-party organization that administers the plans for the MBA Health Trust. “They are extremely helpful and responsive,” says Danielle. “If there is a question of coverage, they are very quick to solve the issue.They are a great middleman for us and our employees to use as a resource.”

TERRENE ALSO PARTICIPATES IN THE MBA GRIP PROGRAM

The MBA also provides access to the GRIP program, which helps improve safety and reduces the overall cost of workers’ compensation for MBA members. “It’s a great program for loss prevention,” says Danielle. “And the GRIP safety team was just out here to do an overhaul of our current safety procedures. It’s a fantastic resource for safety and injuries, though we have never had to make that call.”