Lexington Global Warming Action Coalition Presents “Award of Excellence for Taking Actions Toward a Sustainable World.” to Todd Cataldo
By Ian B. Murphy/Staff Writer, Lexington Minuteman
Fri Oct 03, 2008, 04:04 PM EDT
The Lexington Global Warming Action Coalition (GWAC) recognized local developer Todd Cataldo Thursday for building a residential subdivision that is both Energy Star and LEED certified.
Cataldo’s new housing cluster is on Shade Street, on property formerly connected to the historic Journey’s End mansion. The 20-home cluster is a mixed bag of condos, single-family homes, duplexes and one-bedroom carriage houses, and is the first residential development in Lexington to achieve both ratings.
“The advantage for the end user is that their energy costs should be substantially less, and they know they’re using local and sustainable products,” Cataldo said. “I’m happy the way it’s come out. It’s important not only for us, but for future generations.”
Kay Tiffany, a founding member of GWAC, praised Cataldo for taking the initiative to get the certifications without prompting from any official channels.
“Nobody was forcing him [to build this way],” Tiffany said. “It was of his own volition to do this. It’s an example of what private developers can do to build responsibly and sustainably, and stay competitive in the market. It’s a big movement forward for Lexington.”
Cataldo in turn credited Tiffany for bringing the process to his attention.
“[Tiffany] was really the driver on this,” he said. “I used her resources to contact people from Energy Star.”
In order to achieve the Energy Star rating, Cataldo worked with an engineer to install top-of-the-line insulation and heating, venting, and air conditioning systems. Natural gas will heat all the homes in the development.
For LEED certification, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Cataldo had to avoid using exotic woods shipped from foreign countries or harvested from clear cutting. He also used stone that was found on site for the construction, and used a site design that was especially mindful of rainwater runoff.
Cataldo said the process was more expensive, but the result will be a 30 percent reduction in energy costs for the homeowners.
“You’re changing the methods you used for 20 years to build a house,” he said. “You have to pay more attention to the little things that were business-as-usual before.”
Rep. Jay Kaufman, D- Lexington, praised GWAC and Cataldo for helping to make Lexington a leader on environmental issues.
“I think in Lexington, we pride ourselves on being first on a whole lot of levels, in a whole lot of ways. GWAC is an example of that,” Kaufman said. “What [Cataldo] has done here is to start raising the stakes in a life-or-death battle, not just for the environment, but at the intersection of the environment and our economy.”
