Green Homes To Break National Ground

Crews are set to break ground Wednesday on an unkempt parcel in Dunedin that will become the first certified net-zero energy, workforce housing project in the nation.

When it is finished, Eco Village shall feature 25, two-level townhomes designed to produce as much energy as they use. They will be equipped with solar panels, power-saving appliances, LED lighting and home energy management systems, a county news release says.

The , as it is better known, began in 2007, when Dunedin Housing Authority donated the land to the Pinellas County Land Trust. 

The development is being constructed just one block south of the Habitat for Humanity Shady Grove Townhomes at Howell Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. They will range in size from 1,100 to 1,500 square feet and sell for approximately $135,000 to $175,000, the release says.

The homes will be labeled as workforce housing and "marketed to 'hometown heroes,' including local hospital employees, school teachers, government employees or service workers," Audra Butler, Dunedin Housing Authority spokeswoman, said in her  in April.

The new homes will not be public housing, and no government subsidy will be available, she adds. 

The project is slated for completion in early 2013, the county says.

Eco Village is the result of a partnership between the Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County, Planet Green Group, Eco Construction, GE, Algatec Solar,MESH Architecture and the city of Dunedin.