Phil Szostak (pronounced Shaw-stack) owner, developer and architect for the new green single family subdivision on Trailwood Drive joined the West CAC (Citizens Advisory Council) meeting on July 22, 2008 at Powell Drive Community Center to preview the New American House Project.
A quick introduction from Elizabeth Byrd reminded CAC members in attendance of the lengthy process that started out as a normal rezoning case, but morphed into a complicated PDD (planned development district). Why did a simple, 12 home subdivision go with a PDD? Well, there was nothing like it before. Nothing this green. So new, that the City of Raleigh Planning didn’t have definitions at the time.
Phil took the audience through a very brief slide presentation describing the 12 home, modern, green subdivision located right off of Avent Ferry road behind the day care on Trailwood Drive. The homes will range from 1,800 – 3,000 sq. ft. in size. Lot sizes will range from 1/2 acre to about 1/4 – 1/6 of an acre.The plans are complete and he expects to start construction in the early fall (“September-ish”) time-frame, starting with 3 homes. There was a one-page handout available with a brief introduction to the project, contact information, and a few images of Lot’s 2 and 5, with an overview schematic of the property. The project will be “one of the few private developments in the Triangle to adopt rigorous sustainable development guidelines” and will meet “market demand for energy efficient, custom-built housing.”
The homes will use the NC HealthyBuilt Homes Program for the points / rating system. Each home will be required to have a minimum of 200 out of 500 points. Homes will be evaluated on land use, materials, indoor air quality, water run-off, and many other criteria.
One thing that Phil was very excited about was the projects proximity to the urban system around NC State University and Centennial Campus. The project is located near the Lake Johnson Greenway system and the Upper Walnut Creek Greenway system. In addition to the that, the project also has access to CAT bus lines. These elements are key to making this a true, green community.
Phil answered numerous questions from the crowd, ranging from, “What is a green roof?” to “Will this be annexed [by the city of Raleigh]?” FYI – as part of the PDD masterplan, annexation was required for this property, but does no impact the annexation of the other communities on Trailwood Drive currently, in the ETJ (extra-territorial jurisdiction).
On a personal note, I am really excited about this project. Something of this caliber and quality is long overdue for our part of town. This is the type of development that we should foster and embrace.
Update on July 25:
- Check out this video of the presentation: Triangle Modernist Houses – Phil Szostak: New American House Project July 22 2008
[...] 12 different designers, all from North Carolina, is unlikely to come our way again. Since I first heard about this project in 2008, I thought it was an awesome concept and a great idea. We can help by spreading the word and [...]