Incorporate some of Habitat for Humanity’s ideas for green affordable housing into your own home renovations.

A courtyard with native plants and permeable paving stones prevent heavy rains from flooding the city’s stormwater system.

RODALE NEWS, BROOKLYN, NY—Green, affordable housing never looked so good to so many. This past Saturday morning, 41 soon-to-be homeowners received the keys to their new homes—affordable, safe, and the greenest housing in the neighborhood. Habitat for Humanity officially cut the ribbon on its newest, largest, and greenest housing development ever: the Atlantic Avenue condominium complex in the Ocean City-Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, one of the poorest neighborhoods in New York City.

Amazingly, the project started with a $13 purchase of the land, described by many at the dedication ceremony as “an eyesore” and “garbage-strewn blight,” two years ago by Habitat-NYC, the New York City chapter of Habitat for Humanity. The green, affordable housing is now being sold to the new homeowners for as little as $77,000 per unit, with a mere 1 percent down payment required.

THE DETAILS: The new green, affordable housing complex includes three buildings with a total of 41 one-, two-, and three-bedroom condominiums. Habitat expects that it will be certified as “Gold,” the second-highest rating a building can receive under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design (LEED) program. (Buildings must be completed before they can apply for the rating; prior to its completion, the nonprofit was aiming for a Silver certification.)

In addition to Energy Star–rated appliances and lighting fixtures, the complex contains low-emission windows—coated with a microscopic film that prevents heat loss—and all the construction materials are nontoxic. Rather than conventional paints, caulks, and cabinetry, which can emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like formaldehyde, Habitat used low-VOC alternatives so the homeowners aren’t plagued with the health and respiratory problems that can be triggered by those VOCs. And, instead of cramming all three buildings together to fit in a parking garage on the site, the group installed a courtyard of permeable paving materials and landscaped with native plants, to both encourage residents to take advantage of public transportation and to provide a much-needed green space in a neighborhood where it’s sorely lacking.