I visited Vantage of Palo Alto which is touted as the most progressive “Green” Townhome Community, in the San Francisco Bay Area, and was quite impressed. Vantage is located at 928 East Meadow Drive in south Palo Alto, on the former campus of Loral Space Systems and the Stanford Graduate School of Psychology.
Vantage of Palo Alto has clean modern architecture, and on average homes are selling for about $720.00 per sq ft which is a great value for a new home in Palo Alto. This is a high density community, which is the direction for most new housing in Santa Clara County and San Mateo County. Gone are the days of the 3/2 rancher on an 10K lot.
Pricing: The Vantage of Palo Alto townhomes are 2br/2ba and 3br/3ba plans on 4 levels ranging in square footage from 1197 Sq Ft selling for about $865,000. to 1605 Sq ft. (3br/3ba) for about $1,190,000. There are 5 floor plans. Prices vary based on location. There are two car garages, some of the units have tandem garages. HOA fees are $245.00 per month (hint: this is a good thing). In the future I will have a post on the importance of a appropriately financed HOA and fee structure.
Green Interior Features:The Cabinets are made from pressed wood (particle board) which has a heat activated wood finish applied something like a shrink wrap. So, fewer trees were cut down for the cabinets. All in all they look quite nice, but according to Sales Associate Galen Carnicelli, many potential buyers are not thrilled at having “faux” wood cabinets in their over 1M Town-home.
Floors are Laminate: Again fewer trees died making these homes, and the floors look nice. Legitimately green
Kitchen Counters and some bathrooms are Granite: According to Galen, Granite is “green”. Now, Granite makes the kitchens look far more appealing, but how is a non-renewable resource, (unlike trees) that has to be mined, shipped halfway around the world (fuel expense), and then polished, cut and installed still considered green? My feeling is that they needed the aesthetic qualities of the stone where they put it to balance the laminate and pressed wood cabinets. The stone counters are beautiful.
The Green conundrum: Sometimes going green does mean sacrificing aesthetic, kinesthetic or perceived quality for the sake of the environment. Laminate floors and pressed wood cabinets are a sacrifice for some people, but they can customize their home if they purchase it before it is finished out.
Indoor Air Quality features: Vantage of Palo Alto and Warmington Homes have a green package of interior finishes that is impressive. It includes products with low or no Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) or formaldehyde to improve indoor air quality. Over the years, I have had friends who became sickened by all of the “outgassing” of VO compounds in their new and remodeled homes. I think this is a wonderful option, particularly for asthmatics.
Vantage of Palo Alto is in the Gunn High School district and according to Sales Associate Galen Carnicelli, this is a primary motivation for many of the home buyers. Excellent schools increase home values for all homeowners whether or not they have children using those schools.
What makes Vantage of Palo Alto “Green”? Are some of these features “Green Wash”?
Energy Efficiency: Each Unit has a 2.0kW PV (photovoltaic) system on the roof. The power is sold to the Palo Alto Utility giving the homeowner a credit, and the homeowner uses power at night and when there is no sun. This is a clever scheme as it eliminates a duplication of systems which is one of the reasons Solar generation is touted as being expensive. Vantage was given a 500K credit for this feature… Legitimately green….
Tankless On-Demand Water Heaters –instant hot water with higher efficiency….ok but don’t all new homes have these due to space constraints?
Lighting: motion sensors on the lights….legitimately green
Energy efficient appliances and windows: hey aren’t we all installing those now?
High Efficiency AC/Heat pump touted as having “environmentally friendly refrigerant” Gosh, isn’t all refrigerant require to be environmentally since 1988????
Dual Flush toilets: legitimately green
High Efficiency Drip Irrigation systems: Does anyone landscape any other way here? Green? No, standard practice
Resource efficient landscaping: Standard practice ….green wash
The homes utilized a variety of construction materials and techniques that appear to be legitimately green.
Later this week I will have photos of the development so you can see for yourself if Vantage of Palo Alto is your cup of “green tea”.
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