Building Green Townhouses

Townhouse Goes for Gold

19 October 2010 - Developer Teddy Schiff is working to develop a niche in the New York City housing market by building green townhouses. His first project garnered Manhattan's first LEED gold-certified townhouse, a six-story home on the Upper East Side with multiple outdoor spaces and sustainable design features meant to reduce the use of energy, water and natural resources.

"The goal of the project was to not only build a sustainable home, but to build an aesthetically pleasing one that attracts luxury Manhattan families," said Mr. Schiff, owner of Oyster Capital Group LLC, a high-end townhouse development company. "I didn't want to build this green, left wing home that less people want to buy."

According to property records, the development company purchased the East 82nd Street commercial and residential space in 2007 for $3.2 million. Most of the demolition material from the original 3,100-square-foot space was recycled. Using green materials, the townhouse was built in 2½ years. {read rest}