REDUCE, REUSE, REAL ESTATE

The 100K House proves that modern, eco-friendly and affordable can go hand-in-hand.

When Mario and Melanie Gutierrez began searching for a contemporary home in Philadelphia, they suffered from sticker shock. At $600,000 and up, the chic condos and trendy townhouses were too pricey for the elementary school teachers. Melanie took to the web, typing in the words "modern," "homes" and "Philadelphia."

Among the results was Postgreen, a real estate development firm specializing in green buildings. After meeting with Chad Ludeman, the company president, they were soon sold on the company-despite the fact that Ludeman, a former manufacturing/industrial engineer, had yet to build his first home.

"We felt he was a real professional from our first meeting," Mario says. "He and his architect were up front; they told us they didn't know how things might work." But the couple admired Ludeman's vision-it's hard not to.

Ludeman is the brains behind the 100K House, a case study in which his company is attempting to build a green, modern rowhome in Philadelphia for $100,000 in construction and labor costs. The goal? To prove that green homes can be built affordably if designed properly.

The 1,000-square-foot, two-bedroom and 1.5-bath house-which is LEED-platinum certified-and its neighbor, the 120K House, have nabbed the attention of green enthusiasts and affordable housing advocates across the country. The company has also attracted budget-conscious buyers like Mario and Melanie, who hired Postgreen to build their home near the 100K House. Add land, architect fees and other costs to Postgreen's projects, and the houses range from $200,000 to $300,000.

Although new to green building, Ludeman is no stranger to real estate. His wife, Courtney, is a Realtor. She and her partner handle Postgreen's projects. The Ludemans-who have previously purchased, rehabbed and sold three homes-will live in the 100K House to monitor its cost-efficiency and use it as a model home.

Ludeman has long been fascinated by architecture. "When Chad is interested in something, it's pretty much all he talks about," says childhood friend and Postgreen's marketing director Nic Darling. "He saw inefficiencies in the way houses in the city are built."

Courtney, meanwhile, realized that although the real estate bubble had burst, there was still a demand for properties under $300,000.

What began as a happy hour conversation between friends became a full-time business. "We wanted to prove you could build a green house for the same or less than you could build a normal house," Darling says. A blog (www.100khouse.com) served as a percolator for ideas and a progress report. Postgreen hired architect Brian Phillips of Interface Studio Architects and Brian Pearce of Manor Hill Contracting Services.

"I had not heard of anyone in this area attempting anything like this before, but felt confident that if properly planned, it could be done," Pearce says. Ludeman negotiated a set construction management fee to cover the group's learning curve. "We've worked together as a team. That's been the key to the success of this project," Ludeman says. (In fact, they worked so well together Pearce is investing in Postgreen's next project.)

Though smaller in scale, the houses fit into the cityscape and their exteriors are decidedly modern, which is fine by Mario. "The area is kind of artistic," he says.

So what do these homes look like? The walls are made with structural insulated panels, or SIPs, which are comprised of wood and a foam material. The homes feature strategically placed windows to harness seasonal light; a rainwater collection system; solar-thermal hot water system; radiant floor heating; and finishes that emit little or no gas. An ivy "green wall" provides shade in the summer.

While the master bedroom is designed as a large loft over the living space and kitchen, Postgreen is willing to customize the interior. For example, the Gutierrez property will have a bedroom for their 18-month-old daughter and a nontraditional guest room that can also act as an office.

Postgreen plans to build 10 houses in 2009 and 40 to 50 in 2010, all infill projects in Philadelphia. The timing, Darling says, is right. "People are looking for modestly priced, energy-efficient homes," he says. "People [may not agree], but I say the economy has been a good thing for us."

Pearce concurs. "Most people are not building McMansions anymore," he says. "It's time to take a different approach from conventional methods to survive in today's market."

HOME PAGES

Postgreen is masterfully using its websites to get the word out about the 100K House.

Postgreen's websites - www.postgreen.com and www.100khouse.com - demonstrate the way forward-thinking companies are marketing their businesses. "Postgreen is doing all the right things in all the right places," says Anthony Campisi, president and CEO of Annodyne, an agency that specializes in internet-focused marketing.

The 100K House project site features video, blogs and updates via RSS, Twitter, email and Flickr. It receives about 15,000 hits a month, says Nic Darling, Postgreen's marketing directing. Before decorating 100K House, the website solicited reader comments on potential furnishings. And when 100K House's neighbor, 120K House, went on the market, Postgreen held a "web-only sale," which generated interest (although it did not end in a sale).

The web is the ideal tool for Postgreen's demographic, says Alex Cohen, manager of online marketing for ClickEquations, a paid search-advertising software. "The 100K House's audience is modern, younger and more well-connected," he says.

Darling and Postgreen president Chad Ludeman often appear on the site in photos or press release videos. Darling says the effort on the sites is worth it. "You're not just building your company; you're building a personal brand," he says. "People like to identify with the people behind the project."