April 19, 2011
What is zHome?
When it opens this September, zHome — just east of the Issaquah Highlands Park & Ride — will be the first multifamily, production, zero-energy, carbon-neutral community in the United States.
ZHome is a template for what 21st century, carbon-neutral housing looks like. It will use:
Zero net energy by balancing out its carbon emissions during the course of the year.
70 percent less water than a typical home.
Materials that come from some of the greenest sources possible.
Who is behind this project?
The city is spearheading the project. ZHome, however, is also a collaborative effort of several organizations and companies, including Ichijo USA, Built Green, King County, Port Blakely Communities, Puget Sound Energy and the Washington State University Energy Program.
April 6, 2010
Construction has started on zHome — the long-planned, eco-friendly townhouse development launched with fanfare in late 2008 and then hindered by the recession.
Plans call for 10 townhouses designed to produce as much electricity as the units consume. Despite the attention the pioneering project received at the outset, progress lagged until a Japanese homebuilder indicated interest in zHome. Read more
April 5, 2010
NEW — 9:05 a.m. April 5, 2010
Construction will start Tuesday on zHome — the long-planned, eco-friendly townhouse development launched with fanfare in late 2008 and then hindered by the recession.
The project will include 10 townhouses designed to produce as much electricity as the units consume. Developers said zHome should use 60 percent less water than conventional residences. Workers will use only low-toxicity materials to construct the development.
The buildings will rise near the Issaquah Highlands Park & Ride and the construction site of another high-profile highlands project, YWCA Family Village at Issaquah. Officials expect zHome to be completed by next spring.
June 2, 2009
Affordable houses for 10 families will begin to rise in the Issaquah Highlands in the next several months, local Habitat for Humanity officials said last week.
Habitat officials and volunteers will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking June 11 to kick off construction of five duplexes near the intersection of Northeast Magnolia Street and Northeast Logan Street.
Habitat for Humanity of East King County volunteers will build the houses on nearly an acre of land, which Habitat purchased with help from the city, highlands developer Port Blakely Communities and A Regional Coalition for Housing, an organization of Eastside cities and King County that works to increase the supply of affordable housing. Read more
October 1, 2008
With the ceremonial flush of a high-efficiency toilet, construction began Sept. 29 on the zHome project — a cutting-edge housing development designed to have the smallest possible impact on the environment.