It’s been a busy month at Dwell Development, with Rainier Vista breaking ground and forming up foundations on the first two homes there. To date we have two of the homes pre-sold and are receiving a steady stream of inquiries not about only phase one, but phase two as well! Bring your Buyers!! This is a special, one of a kind development. Lots to tell about this project in the months to come so stay tuned.
On other fronts we have just broken ground on our project at 355 19th Ave. on the corner of 19th and E. Jefferson and will be doing the same on our other project at 2104 E. Pine in the coming weeks. Both of these projects are also pre-sold and we are thrilled to be working with fantastic future homeowners and working in their special touches.
We’ll have some great renderings to share of the 19th Ave. project very soon. In the meantime here are a few of E. Pine that we’d thought you’d like. This is going to be a fantastic home with 4 Bedroom, Den, 3 1/2 Baths, Garage and some great urban outdoor space. Of course we will be targeting LEED Platinum and exceeding Built Green 5-Star requirements; focusing on energy efficiency, sustainable materials, and healthy indoor air quality as a means of getting there.
We have other projects in the works, so if you are interested in owning a Dwell home please get in touch
We’re very excited to be in the final stages of preparations toward breaking ground on Phase 1 of our next major build project at Rainier Vista in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood. As if the anticipation of heading into a project like this weren’t enough, we are also proud to announce that two of the four homes have PRE-SOLD and activity is brisk with other potential pre-sales in the very near future.
These Rainier Vista homes are part of the next expansion of a major redevelopment project that’s bringing a new vibrancy in neighborhoods adjacent to the Light Rail system now operating from Sea-Tac Airport to the heart of the city. Dwell’s homes will be located just two blocks from the nearest light rail station and are within easy walking distance of all that Columbia City has to offer.
There will be four homes in each phase of construction, all of which will embody the design sensibility Dwell Development is well known for, and will include the energy efficiency, quality construction, and light environmental impact that have become a standard for us. The homes have been designed each with a slightly different spin on the smart modern aesthetic.
First will be the Standard Dwell; a slightly smaller home at a price point designed to bring the best modern home at the best value possible. Next is our age in place home which will address the needs of an ever growing segment of our population, with the main floor containing living, dining and kitchen areas as well as a bedroom/bath suite. Our third design will target Net Zero living, creating as much energy within the footprint of the property as the home consumes through occupancy. And lastly will be our Dwell Signature home; including all of the amenities which have brought us so much success in the marketplace.
While homes 3 and 4 of Phase 1 will be on the market very soon, we are in full design mode on Phase 2 of this project and welcome any inquiries on either phase. Phase two will also include one of each of four home types with uniquely different designs than those in phase one. Our goal is to create a broad palette of modern design that play well with each other without becoming repetitive.
We will have lots to share in the coming months regarding Rainier Vista as well as two other projects with ground-breaking just around the corner. These two homes on E. Jefferson and E. Pine have also both PRE-SOLD and have excited future homeowners waiting to watch as their homes are constructed.
Get in touch or keep in touch! We would love to talk with you in greater detail about all that’s going on with Dwell Development.
We are very happy to announce that we are still offering the Dwell Buyer Benefit as part of the fantastic incentive package on the last unit at our 1105dwell project. In addition to the $8,000 Dwell incentive this project is also participating in the 3% lender credit available through Golf Savings. We have put so much into this project, intended to not only provide a very cool, comfortable place to live, but to have extremely low utility costs and all the great things that come along with a home built as green as these.
This last unit has everything going for it: Low Price, High Value, and all of the great things you have come to expect from Dwell Development. The home will be open this Sunday, September 18th from 2-4 pm. We would love to have you come by to visit the project and learn about how you can benefit from living in this wonderful, modern, green home. All told there are roughly $20,000 in benefits available to buyers on this home…pretty exceptional we think.
We are so pleased to announce that our latest project has gone pending during it’s first weekend on the market.
From the very beginning, this home has been an amazing experience in so many ways. As a single family home, we’ve had a chance to take so much of what we’ve learned about building science, sustainability, and impact and weave them seemlessly into a design that is as much beautiful as it is green. It is a special place that is among the most efficient speculative homes built in Seattle. A great deal goes into that being the outcome and we think it means something to build homes that are a sound investment as well as fine examples of good design.
This one went very fast and there’s only one chance left to buy a Dwell home this year! Our project on 23rd Avenue has sold 3 of the 4 homes and the last comes with the same great incentives that were such a big player in the sale of the first three homes. Dwell is fortunate to have the support of the Golf Savings 3% incentive, not to mention the $8,000 credit that has been offered on all of these homes. Come see this great home set right on the edge of the park. Hurry though…we’re on a roll!!
One thing we have realized in our pursuit to build better homes is that it’s hard to tell the story of green building in the short amount of time that people are experiencing our homes on their first visit. First impressions go a long way, and we have thought a lot about the best way to quickly impress some of the most important aspects of what we were trying to accomplish. We want to first build cool houses, and then make them even better by being more efficient, healthy, comfortable, environmentally friendly, and well connected to their surroundings.
With this challenge in mind we have been very excited about our work with GreenDwellingSeattle on a piece we think says so much about our goals in a format that’s recognizable, clear and simple, and that give a realistic comparison to other similarly sized homes. We have put forth our best efforts and we think the Environmental Facts Label says a lot about how we are building better homes. It provides the basic facts of a home and the means by which we achieve efficiencies. It lets people know what they can expect in the way of utilities costs compared to local average homes of similar size. It speaks to walkability, public transit time and also what certifications the home has targeted. It also includes one basic number: the HERS index, which represents what percentage of efficiency a home should realize over code built homes. Low is good and each number represents a 1% improvement, with code built homes being 100. Keep in mind that to achieve Energy Star certification a home must be at least 15% better than code. At 1105dwell our homes are 45% more efficient and we are very proud of that. We reached this number by building with SIPS, utilizing an airtight drywall approach, tireless air sealing to keep hot and cold air where we want it, and including efficient systems like Tankless Hot Water, and Heat Recovery Ventilation.
There is a lot more to tell about green building, but quite a bit of it is said in this label. We hope it connects and resonates. Come see for yourself. See the recycled and renewable materials, smell the clean fresh scent of a healthy home, realize that with so much natural light you use the light switches less often. We are happy to share our work and that it is being appreciated by our buyers and the community. 3 of 4 have sold and we are looking forward to completing this project just in time to release our next, 436dwell.
This is an amazing single family home that could quite possibly be the most efficient speculative home built to date in the city. Not only is it extremely cool, it has a HERS rating of 46!!! We would love to welcome you to a release party on Thursday, September 2nd from 4:00-7:00 pm. More details to come on this project. Stay Tuned!!!
Today’s topic in the pursuit of better built homes: SIPS (Structural Insulated Panels). The exterior envelope at 1105dwell is completely comprised of this amazing building material that gives a great deal of benefit while using far less in the way of energy and materials than it’s traditional stick frame counterpart. We want to take a quick look at exactly what a SIP (Structural Insulated Panel) is and talk a bit about the many benefits their use offers for structural durability, energy efficiency, and reduced environmental impact. The benefits of SIP’s are many, but most notable would be that they create a strong, durable building envelope with high insulation values and minimal air infiltration. For comparison, a 4-inch SIP wall has an insulation value of R-14 and will outperform a 2×6 stick frame wall with R-19 fiberglass insulation.
SIP’s are most commonly made of OSB (Oriented Strand Board) panels that are sandwiched around a foam core made of expanded polystyrene. These core materials are made of 98% air and the blowing agent used to expand the foam is CFC-free. Only a small amount of petroleum is required to create the foam insulation and the manufacturing process uses 24% less energy than fiberglass of equivalent R-Value. The OSB panels are typically made from fast growing species such as aspen or poplar and use nearly all of the wood of the harvested trees with very little waste.
When blower door tested, SIP’s have been known to be 15 times more airtight than their stick framed counterpart with fiberglass insulation. Constructing a home using SIP’s can reduce heating and cooling costs upwards of 50%. They are manufactured offsite to custom specifications and as such offer a reduction in initial resource demand and jobsite waste. While the technology for SIP’s was developed in the 1930’s in the severe Wisconsin climate, they are now widely used in construction projects all over the world. Dwell made the decision to use SIP’s for their latest project because of what they had to offer from a structural, efficiency, and environmental benefit perspective. The future homeowners here will value them for their durability, comfort, and reduced utility costs.
Another one of the many features of 1105dwell is the attention given to healthy indoor air quality. We started with an extremely tight envelope; meaning we worked tirelessly to ensure that the house was as airtight as we could make it in order to lay the foundation for the efficiencies we were striving for. The finishes that went into the homes were also very important, and we are proud to say we used only Low/No VOC finishes to make sure we were creating a healthy environment from the get-go. Passive ventilation is also great in the summertime (cracking a few windows), but in the cooler months we needed an efficient means by which to fill the homes with fresh air on a constant basis without additional heating costs.
Enter Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV). It basically works like this:
In a home there is an inbound flow of fresh outdoor air, and an outbound flow of moist indoor air that needs to vented. In a tight house that is highly interested in efficient operations we want to be able to control moisture and air temperature, and to minimize the heat loss that occurs as we ventilate. An HRV works by using a heat exchanger between the cooler, incoming fresh air and the warmer, moist indoor air that needs to be vented from the home. The cool air picks up heat from the warm air as it is brought into the home and also helps to reduce the humidity of the indoors at the same time. These systems can recover as much as 75% of the heat from the air that is being vented and ensure a low humidity interior that can have a significant effect on the health of the indoor air quality, the integrity of the home and furnishings; all while reducing the operational costs of the home as a whole.
While we’re on the subject of operational costs, the cost of financing a new home comes to mind. With interest rates at historical lows (4% range in most cases) it is hard to think of a better time to buy. At 1105dwell we have put together a great preferred lender program with Golf Savings, and are offering various other incentives to bring the total to almost $25,000 in buyer incentives per home. We are even offering a $1,000 referral from Dwell for anyone who brings us a buyer that leads to a closed transaction.
Just produced this short video to share a bit about what we do and the philosophy behind it. It’s about raising the bar on residential development; to contribute to community, to promote Health, Efficiency, Sustainability, and the value of investment in a better built home. Our project 1105dwell is our latest addition to the Judkins Park neighborhood and we are very proud of our efforts there. If you are interested in a tour or would like to know more about the project let us know at [email protected].
This weekend is Seafair and many of us have already started looking up in the sky to follow the scream of the Blue Angels as they streak across the sky. Seemed like a perfect time to say a little something about the roof top decks that have all but become a staple of dwell projects and are a beautiful, functional, sustainability added feature of our latest project 1105dwell.
Rooftop decks are a fantastic way to add living space to homes built in the urban environment. We have been adding them to our projects for years and the feedback we get from our homeowners is they are the place they most often find themselves from the first signs of Spring on into the long Indian Summers we are so fortunate to enjoy in the Northwest. We outfit ours with everything from a natural gas line to hot and cold running water, plenty of open space for entertaining, and ample gardening areas so our homeowner’s can grow a full spectrum of fruits and vegetable year round.
Rooftop decks get you up and away from it all. The view is always outstanding and they offer outdoor privacy seldom found in the urban environment. They are far more than a deck. They are a place to entertain, relax, cook, and garden with the added benefit of watering all those fruits and vegetables from our rainwater catchment systems. They are definitely a way to enhance the urban living experience and something we are proud to offer on all of the homes at 1105dwell.
We are excited to share the details of these homes and will be doing so every few days or so for some time. Monday will be a video update that tells the story of dwell and what we hope to accomplish with our developments. Stay tuned. If you have any questions about the project as we go along or would like to arrange a tour, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at [email protected].
Thoughtful design is a collection of many things, not the least of which are efficient operations and technologies that offer as much in the way of comfort and convenience as they do in savings for the residents. Today’s topic: Tankless Hot Water Heaters.
Tankless Hot Water Heaters are an excellent example of just one of the features of our latest project 1105dwell that offer all three; comfort, convenience, and efficiency. Tankless Hot Waters heater have become more commonplace in residential design as of late and we thought it might be nice to share a few of the benefits of these compact little powerhouses that are often overlooked. Yes, they have the capacity to offer forever showers, and take up much less space than a conventional hot water tank, but there’s far more to it than that.
Let’s take a look:
Tankless Hot Water Heaters are designed to last 20 years, compared to Tank Water Heaters that have a lifetime of 2-9 years.
Tankless have a standby heat loss of 0% compared to an average of 20% on Tank Heaters.
Tankless save an average of 30% on the water heating bill.
Tankless burn less fossil feuls than a Tank Heater that heats water that isn’t being used.
Tankless are more efficient over the life of the heater due to reduced mineral build up.
Click on the image and look closely at the yellow Energy Guide Label on the side of the unit. See where it lands on the range of efficiency for water heating units….Amazing!!
At 1105dwell we chose an incredible 98% efficient Navien Condensing Tankless Water Heater. This unit delivers not only the domestic hot water (sinks, showers, laundry) but is also the heat source for the 3-zone radiant floor heating in these homes. The efficiency of the unit for space heating is complemented by the superior insulation and air sealing that went into the construction, all of which add to the overall comfort, convenience, and efficiency of this system and technology.
There is far more to thoughtful design of course, including use of sustainable materials, natural daylighting, passive ventilation, improved stormwater management, durability, quality of construction, etc. But let’s bite this off in small pieces and talk a bit about each. We would love for you to visit our project and see the result of our approach to thoughtful design for yourself. These homes are on the market and we are offering up to $25,000 in buyer’s incentives and will pay anyone a $1,000 incentive for referring a buyer who purchases one of them. Check out these images and see for yourself the approach we have taken to thoughtful design at 1105dwell.
