EWM/Christie’s puts unique ‘green’ home on the market

EWM/Christie’s puts unique ‘green’ home on the market
EWM/Christie’s puts unique ‘green’ home on the market
Pictured during a recent eco-friendly ribbon-cutting ceremony for the first speculative “green” home in Little Gables are: the home’s listing agent, Carlos Ruiz de Quevedo of EWM/Christie’s; Raul Valdez-Fauli, president and CEO of Professional Bank; Ron Shuffield, CEO of EWM Realty International; Karen Shane, president of the Little Gables Neighborhood Association; Manuel Orbis Jr., special projects liaison for Miami-Dade Commission chair Rebeca Sosa; Jorge Milian, MDG Builders, and Richard K. Jones, Coltrain-Jones Architects.

Esslinger Wooten Maxwell (EWM) Realty International, one of the nation’s largest residential real estate firms and the exclusive affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate for Miami-Dade and Broward counties, recently announced that noted real estate associate and developer Carlos Ruiz de Quevedo has listed the first speculative (“spec”) “green” home in Little Gables, and one of the first of its kind in Miami-Dade County.

Recently completed, the environmentally conscious residence at 4464 SW 11 St. is priced at $625,000. Ruiz de Quevedo also is in the process of seeking LEED certification for the home. It was placed on the market following an eco-friendly ribbon cutting ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 23, which was well attended by members of surrounding communities.

Notable guests included Manuel Orbis Jr., special projects liaison for Miami-Dade Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, and EWM CEO Ron Shuffield.

Designed to use 70 percent less electricity than conventional homes, the three-bedroom, three-bath residence features nearly 2,000 square feet of flexible space, including an easily adaptable bonus room, walk-in closets, porches, a courtyard, and low-maintenance Florida-friendly landscaping.

The solar-panel-ready residence also presents various energy and money-saving amenities. Offerings include reinforced insulated concrete walls to keep heat out and offer hurricane protection, sustainable bamboo flooring, insulated impact windows with low-e glass to reduce heat gain, metal roof with reflective coatings and foam insulation for a cooler attic (and consequently lower electricity and air-conditioning bills), concrete pavers, and rain gutters with water tanks for rain harvesting. The property also is outfitted with energy-efficient, LED and compact florescent light fixtures, and a high efficiency air-conditioning unit.

EWM/Christie’s puts unique ‘green’ home on the market
Community members gathered in front of the first speculative “green” home in Little Gables, being listed by Carlos Ruiz de Quevedo of EWM/Christie’s.

Carlos Ruiz de Quevedo teamed with Coltrain-Jones Architects and Milian Development Group to build two neighboring “green” homes in Little Gables. The team broke ground on the residences in January 2013. Ruiz de Quevedo has since decided to list only one of the two homes for the purpose of gathering additional data on the second structure and continuing to learn about its unique sustainable qualities.

“This project has been a wonderful educational experience as I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about the detailed process of constructing a ‘green’ home in an area where the concept is still relatively new,” Ruiz de Quevedo said. “It’s also been exciting to see the neighborhood respond to the project.

“My goal in developing these homes was to educate the public about ‘green’ homes, how they can save homeowners money and help them achieve a better quality of life,” he added.

In 2009, Ruiz de Quevedo began an ecofocused initiative, Sustainable Realty Group, and was the first chair of the City of Coral Gables’ Green Task Force.

“With a goal of paving the way for a ‘green’ home standard in South Florida, we applaud Carlos’ efforts, which have and will continue to educate the real estate and consumer community on obtainable energy-efficient building techniques and technologies,” Shuffield said.

For information, visit EWM.com or www.miamigreenrealtor.com.


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