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The U.S. Green Building Council announced this week that the Argenta Community Development Corp. has been awarded a Gold LEED-H certification rating for building four green homes in North Little Rock.

The homes were built through Argenta CDC's affordable housing construction initiative, Building Green. The program said the homes are the first residential structures in Arkansas to earn the LEED designation.

LEED-H, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes, was launched as a pilot program in 2005. It is a green home ratings system with rankings that assures residents that their homes are designed and built to be energy- and resource-efficient.

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, there are 174 projects in the nation involved in LEED-H. Of these projects, 21 have earned gold status, while 19 have garnered platinum.

"Building Green is a highly successful development that represents a new era in our construction practices, integrating affordable housing with environmental sustainability," Brad Williams, Argenta CDC executive director, said. "Coupled with providing quality homeownership opportunities for low-to-moderate income families, we have designed homes that will ease our buyers' utility burden." Construction of the Building Green homes began in July. They are 1,300 SF with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room/dining room combo, a fully equipped kitchen, laundry room and a privacy fence.

The homes are located east of Pike Avenue in North Little Rock's Holt neighborhood, an area where the organization has invested more than $2 million since 2001 in revitalization efforts that include rehabilitations and new constructions.

The homes are priced at $99,750 and have subsidies up to $20,000 for qualified borrowers.

"The city of North Little Rock has been very, very supportive of our efforts," Williams said. "We feel like the community will see that this has been a valuable effort as we bring in new homeowners to the neighborhood who take pride in where they live and are excited to be active citizens in the community."

One of those new homeowners moved in Saturday, Williams said. He expected contracts to be signed for two more by the end of the day Thursday, leaving one more still for sale.

This year, four more homes in the same neighborhood are scheduled for construction and certification, Shanta Nunn-Baro, Argenta CDC resource development manager, said.

All Building Green homes meet Energy Star U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for energy efficiency and are supposed to be at least 30 percent more efficient than traditional homes.

Argenta CDC this year plans to expand its sustainable construction practices to market-rate condominiums. Located on Sixth and Orange streets in the Argenta district, the CDC plans to develop two condominiums with several sustainable amenities that will meet Energy Star guidelines.

Each home will be 2,647 SF and feature four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, garage, dining room, great room, loft, game room and kitchen. The units are priced at $225,000.

The condominiums will not have the LEED-H certification but will be built with "numerous green features," Nunn-Baro said.