Ithacating in Cornell Heights

The following is a courtesy post sent in by Lynn Truame, Senior Real Estate Developer for INHS. 304 Hector Street, on Ithaca’s West Hill, was built in 2017 with the help of IURA-awarded HOME federal grant dollars. The 1,223 SF home is for sale for $149,000 to households making at or below 80% AMI ($42,400 for a single person, $60,500 for a family of four).

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304 Hector Street:  Green Affordable Homeownership in the City of Ithaca

The single family home at 304 Hector Street looks like dozens of homes all over Ithaca:  an American Foursquare design with a broad front porch, located on a small landscaped lot.  But beneath that modest exterior lies something special:  a brand new LEED Gold Certified home that is affordable to the “Missing Middle”:  households earning around 80% of the Area Median Income, or less then $60,500 for a family of four.

304 Hector is the latest addition to Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Service’s Community Housing Trust (CHT).  The CHT program ensures long-term affordability for purchasers by allowing the homebuyer to only purchase the house. The land is leased from INHS under a very affordable 99-year lease, reducing the initial purchase price by excluding the cost of the land. Subsidies bring the cost to the buyer down even further, allowing CHT homes to be sold at prices that are up to 50% below market value. As the land owner, INHS retains stewardship over the project, ensuring the home remains affordable for future purchasers.

Like all of INHS’ CHT properties, 304 Hector is a “green” building. LEED for Homes, Indoor AirPlus, and Energy Star certified, this house well exceeds the minimum requirements of the building code, with special attention being paid to indoor environmental quality and resource efficiency. This green home surpasses conventional homes in four major areas:  greater energy efficiency, improved indoor air quality, better use of natural resources, and lower impact development. Building to these standards results in a home that is less expensive to heat and cool, more environmentally friendly, more durable, less polluting, and less wasteful to build.

Some of the most notable “green” characteristics of 304 Hector include:

• Densepack cellulose insulation, made from recycled newspapers
• EnergyStar appliances
• Advanced air sealing and mechanical ventilation
• High efficiency sealed-combustion boiler providing both heat and hot water
• Low VOC paints
• Green Label certified carpet
• High efficiency, low-flow faucets and fixtures
• Reduced construction waste
• No tropical hardwoods
• Triple pane EnergyStar windows

Completed in December 2017, 304 Hector was designed by architect Noah Demarest of STREAM Collaborative, and built by a local contractor, D-Squared Construction.  EnergyStar and LEED Rating services were provided by Steven Winter Associates, Inc.