FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 17, 2023
CONTACT: Lisa Patlis, (802) 861-3814
Evernorth was recently honored with two prestigious energy efficiency awards from the U.S. Department of Energy for exceeding the performance criteria for building envelope performance and for energy equity. Laurentide Apartments received both Building Envelope Campaign Awards – the Novel 40 award and the inaugural Energy Equity award – for the newly constructed building located in Burlington, Vermont. Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) co-developed and is a co-owner of Laurentide Apartments in partnership with Evernorth.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Envelope Campaign Awards recognize builders, contractors, designers, and owners for innovative designs and improvements to the building enclosure that results in significant reductions in energy consumption. In addition to the awards for energy efficiency, a new Energy Equity award was introduced. The Energy Equity award recognizes those projects that address the needs of underserved communities by reducing the financial burden of their energy needs.
This past year, a Novel 40 award was presented to the Laurentide Apartments team because it achieved an aggregate improvement of 60% in building envelope performance! With a combined commitment of the Evernorth & CHT, the design team led by Sam Beall of Duncan Wisniewski Architects, and the contractor, HP Cummings, the air sealing results for Laurentide exceeded Passive House by 66%.
The Laurentide Apartments team was also recognized as the first Energy Equity award recipient because of the communities they serve, including providing affordable housing opportunities for lower income earners and those coming out of homelessness. The significant improvements in energy consumption should help people that pay a disproportionate amount of their income to meet their energy needs.
“We know that residential buildings account for one-fifth of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, said Kathy Beyer, Evernorth’s Senior Vice President for Real Estate Development. “And, helping to reduce the carbon footprint of our residential buildings is a critical component of Evernorth’s work. In addition, we will continue to center equity as a goal as we design and build affordable housing so that we do not further burden low- and moderate-income households. That’s why we are so appreciative of these two Building Envelope Campaign awards that recognize our team’s work.”
Evernorth was invited to highlight Laurentide Apartments at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit that took place at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C. April 11-13. Sam Beall of Duncan Wisniewski Architecture and principal architect for Laurentide delivered a well-received presentation at the Summit. “We welcomed the opportunity to present Laurentide to a national audience as it evinces some of the most important aspects of our work: equity for vulnerable populations, good design for daily life, and a robust and resilient envelope to withstand our extreme New England climate,” said Beall after his presentation.
Laurentide Apartments is a 76 multi-family apartment building in Burlington’s new Cambrian Rise Neighborhood. Laurentide addresses energy efficiency and equity in a holistic fashion. The transportation energy burden of our residents is reduced by being part of a walkable neighborhood, adjacent to robust public transportation, proximity to the Burlington Bike path, ample bike storage, and EV charging stations. The energy security of our residents is improved by including heating and cooling in the tenants’ rent. This insulates tenants from volatility in fuel pricing, but it also incentivizes the building owners, Evernorth & CHT, to maximize the energy performance of the building. “At Laurentide Apartments, we have aligned the goals of energy justice with our energy efficiency goals,”noted Beyer.
Evernorth partnered with Champlain Housing Trust to develop Laurentide Apartments. Duncan Wisniewski Architecture was the project architect and HP Cummings Construction was the Construction Manager.
Photo credit: Lincoln Brown
