The Epsten Group office that is the first to get LEED- NC Platinum in Atlanta
LEED- NC is the commercial rating for green buildings. The architect for our Lake Claire LEED project- The Epsten Group designed and certified the first LEED-NC (commercial) renovation in Atlanta. They were able to give new green life to an existing structure that was not in good condition. Since The Lake Claire LEED project will be the first with all 3 green certifications at once in Atlanta- it looks like The Epsten Group is the first on many projects! They have been part of many other amazing projects in Atlanta. To see more of their portfolio visit The Epsten Group.
We decided to go with “LEED for Homes” because it was the most stringent of all of the certifications for renovations and actually would reward us for doing more. EarthCraft House for new homes does have a tiered system, however the EarthCraft revovation program does not. Even though we have completed the majority of the EarthCraft renovations in the program, we thought trying LEED out as well would be fun. Energy Star is a requirement for EarthCraft House, but not for the renovations. It is a certification typically used in new construction since renovations don;t usually improve enough to meet the standard. Lake Claire LEED with not only meets the energy code for new construction (as a renovation), but it should far exceed it as well. Here in GA all of these certifications can be listed on FMLS if our homeowner decides to sell the house. Since green houses could be listed on FMLS, realtors have noticed that they sell for more and sell faster as well. That is the reason to get a green certification!