CEO Brownell pegs his future on conservation design techniques. "It's the future ... the way we'll all need to do development," he says. Bielinski Homes scored big with its 39-acre Prairie Glen community, in Germantown, Wis., on agricultural lands that included "partially degraded wetlands." Wetland restoration planning at Prairie Glen yielded attractive riparian open space, and buyers responded favorably, perceiving the space as an attractive natural amenity and "free" landscaping. Ecological restoration also propelled the firm's 85.5-acre Auburn Hills community in Caledonia, Wis.
A nationwide search campaign helps Eden find its Eve.
The VIP (very important phase) affair held at Prairie District Homes in July 2002, resulted in 12 deposits on the Legacy Development Group's 28 available townhomes, says Judith Simon of Chicago-based Taylor Johnson Associates, the agency representing the community. And it was the elegance of the community's historic past that inspired the VIP event.
By Christina B. Farnsworth. Furnished by PowerLight Corp. of Northern California, it provides enough electricity to power over 200 homes during the day. "Thanks to our deployment of solar power, innovative energy-efficiency measures, and cogeneration, [we] anticipate savings of more than $800,000 a year, while reducing our demand for energy from high-polluting fossil fuel sources such as oil, gas, and coal," says Michael Johnson, Solano County administrator.
Never have the Gold Nugget winners been more responsive to local settings in their use of materials and details and more romantic as a result.
