Brookfield Homes Wins Environmental Spirit Award for Rockrose Community in Carlsbad

SAN DIEGO, CA, March 13, 2011 (Press-News.org) Brookfield Homes' eco-savvy new home community Rockrose at The Foothills has been named the 2011 recipient of the Environmental Spirit Award by the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber celebrated its 43rd Annual Business Awards Dinner Friday at the Park Hyatt Resort Aviara in Carlsbad.

Opened one year ago, Rockrose features single-family detached residences that exceed the State of California's Title 24 standards for energy efficiency by at least 35 percent.

In naming Rockrose its 2011 Environmental Spirit Award winner, the Carlsbad Chamber commended Brookfield Homes for making "a commitment to more sustainable home building with its first eco-savvy neighborhood, Rockrose at The Foothills of Carlsbad." Brookfield is the first homebuilder to receive this award.

Every residence at Rockrose incorporates six areas of eco-savvy design, from energy and water conservation to waste reduction, improved indoor air quality, sustainable building materials/wood conservation, and renewable energy/solar power.

According to Steve Doyle, president of Brookfield Homes San Diego/Riverside division, Rockrose represents the company's commitment to blend forward-thinking green building features with fine architectural design and quality construction.

"We appreciate the Carlsbad Chamber's recognition and are proud and humbled to receive the 2011 Environmental Spirit Award," said Doyle. "We're honored to be the first homebuilder to earn the Chamber's award for environmental stewardship."

Doyle told a crowd of 550 that Brookfield took advantage of the recent real estate slowdown to rethink its business model. The company spent two years investigating sustainable products and building practices in order to deliver the eco-savvy model at Rockrose.

"Over the last few years, we took the opportunity to reinvent our product," said Doyle. "We wanted to become the sustainable builder for San Diego County.

For homeowners this translates into money-saving and eco-savvy features like tankless water heaters, a recirculating hot water system, Merv 8 air filters, low VOC carpets and paints, formaldehyde free insulation and options like photovoltaic solar panels and electrostatic air filters.

Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger validated Brookfield's efforts in a March 2010 proclamation:

"Rockrose not only generates jobs and homes for Californians, it also sets a new standard in creating sustainable communities," the governor stated. "Whether in construction materials, energy sources, landscaping and more, every facet of this project aims to make California an even better - and greener - place to call home."

In January, Rockrose was recognized for design excellence by the National Association of Home Builders. Last year, the new home community was named a finalist in four separate categories at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC) Gold Nugget Awards, as well as being named a finalist at the 2010 Building Industry Association (BIA) and Sales and Marketing Council (SMC) of Southern California's joint annual awards, the SoCal Awards.

In addition to the Environmental Spirit Award, Rockrose has also drawn praise from a variety of energy industry executives and regulatory officials.

The senior vice president of finance, regulatory and legislative affairs for Sempra Energy Utilities, Lee Schavrien, called Rockrose a "model for other home builders - even a challenge for other developers."

"We applaud Brookfield Homes as a leader in a new proactive approach to energy efficiency by building it in," Schavrien said.

Anthony Eggert of the California Energy Commission said, "Projects like this demonstrate that it can be done."

The executive director of the American Lung Association's San Diego office, Jan Cortez, said Rockrose will serve as a model project for the Lung Association to educate the community.

"Indoor air quality is important to San Diegans. It's great to see a model home that is energy efficient and progressive but also is a healthful home," Cortez said.

About Brookfield Homes San Diego/Riverside
Brookfield San Diego Builders, Inc. builds new homes in San Diego and Riverside counties. Brookfield currently is building in the master-planned communities of The Foothills in Carlsbad, Windingwalk in Chula Vista, Stonebridge Estates east of Scripps Ranch in San Diego, and Old Creek Ranch new homes in San Marcos. The company also has significant land holdings in Riverside County. For more information about Brookfield communities and to learn about the company's signature construction differences, visit http://www.brookfieldsd.com.

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