Net-Zero Living

Evergreen TC is ready and waiting to break ground on a new sustainable housing project

By Ross Boissoneau | April 27, 2024

One-, two-, and three-bedroom units, pocket neighborhoods, and net-zero homes. Those are among the attributes of Evergreen TC, a residential development coming to the west side of Traverse City.

Evergreen TC is headed by Realtor Sue Kelly, green building expert Max Strickland, and builder Dan Paulson. Strickland and Paulson both boast years of experience with green building practices, and Kelly was so impressed by a presentation by Paulson she enlisted his help to bring such a project to fruition. 

“My passion has always been energy efficiency,” says Paulson. 

The Evergreen TC website projects a five-year plan, with 16 units the first year, 28 in years two and three, 32 in year four, and 22 in year five, for a total of 126 units. 

How It Started

Seven years ago, Kelly called Paulson about a property development she was representing. She asked Paulson to talk with the owner about the ways in which the parcel could be developed to minimize the impact on the environment, both during and after its construction. “He was uninterested, but Sue said she was,” recalls Paulson

Kelly had fielded some offers on property she owned on the west side of Traverse City, but when she heard Paulson’s presentation, she decided the site would be a good fit for such an endeavor. “I’d thought about selling, I’d had offers, but when Dan’s project came on, I thought it was perfect for Traverse City. It’s close to town, good for families and retirees—it’s a good match. I am all excited about Dan’s idea.”

Paulson has known Strickland since 1975, and the two have collaborated numerous times. Strickland is a principal at Strickland, Ewing & Associates, which provides green building consulting and rating services. Strickland has written a monthly column about the various facets of building with the environment in mind, taught classes, and led numerous workshops and conferences. 

The two co-founded a Green Build Committee at the Home Builders Association of Northwest Michigan. They also worked together on the Depot Neighborhood, a Habitat for Humanity project featuring net-zero energy housing. 

Paulson, Strickland, and Kelly are well aware of the need for housing. While Evergreen TC’s proposed 126 units won’t solve the problem, it will help to assuage it. And its high-tech, low carbon approach will do so in the most environmentally friendly way. “It’s the culmination of everything I wanted to do,” says Paulson. 

How It’s Going

Unlike the Depot Neighborhood, which featured single family homes and duplexes, the Evergreen TC project involves a series of townhomes. The design provides for energy efficiency as well as creating micro-neighborhoods. 

It was originally intended to appeal to those seeking an affordable, efficient alternative to what was on the market, with a price point envisioned in the $200,000-plus range. But since its inception, that price point has changed. “Prices kept rising,” says Paulson. 

The project is still intended to appeal to a diverse population, from young professionals to retirees and families. Kelly places the current cost around $350,000—significantly higher than when they first began laying out the project seven years ago. That is all dependent, of course, on the finishes, the size of the home and, for the larger homes, how much is actually finished.

The goal of sustainability includes energy efficiency both in the build and afterwards. The group is still exploring the most efficient ways to build, while making sure the various aspects of the home all surpass regulations. The foundation being used is made of superior precast concrete. Exterior walls are extended plate and beam wall systems with vinyl siding. Roof trusses have a 24-inch energy heel and 24-inch overhang on all sides. 

Each building will include a solar garden on the roof, capturing solar energy to offset occupants’ electrical needs. Over the course of a year, the solar gardens will produce as much energy as is used. 

According to Paulson, the net-zero rating doesn’t mean that residents won’t have to pay for any energy usage. Customers are billed at retail, while any excess electricity generated by the solar panels is bought back by the utility—in this case, Cherryland Electric Co-op—at a wholesale rate. 

The development is also utilizing energy-efficient windows and heat pumps for heating, cooling, and heating water (such a water heating system is 280 percent efficient versus a typical electric water heater’s 92 percent efficiency). The townhomes are designed to provide passive heating and light via strategically placed windows.

What’s Next

The project extends beyond the energy efficiency to create so-called pocket neighborhoods, where residents can get to know those nearby. “What people are looking for is a community. It’s a building that fosters a community,” Paulson says, which he says is one of three priorities.

As an example, he points to the Depot Neighborhood. “We went back to the Depot and saw a kid on a bike,” says Paulson. Asked what he liked best about the development, the youngster didn’t talk about the homes, their efficiency, or the proximity to downtown. “It’s the neighbors,” he told Paulson.

Another priority of the development was connecting it to nature. The buildings face a central courtyard area, with garages in the back of the homes. They’ve also reserved additional green space for the property. “We’re building 126 units on less than 20 acres. We’ve set aside 15 percent as a nature preserve with trails and recreation,” Paulson says.  

Prioritizing the low impact, net-zero aspect of the endeavor is a given as well. “It’s an introduction to sustainability,” he says. Paulson says that tying those three elements—community, nature, and sustainability—of the project together is what really makes it a desirable place to live.  

As for a timeline on the project, the trio say they’re simply waiting on permits to begin the process. “We’ve been working on the project for seven years,” says Paulson ruefully. “We are set to go. We’re ready to break ground the day it’s approved. We intended to do that last fall. EGLE [the state’s department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy] has been cooperative, but it’s a bureaucracy.”

Strickland says there have been a lot of personnel changes recently at EGLE, which they believe has helped slow down the permitting process. “There’s a new director, a new deputy director, and lots of new staff. I imagine that there’s a steep learning curve and lots of challenges for them as all these changes occur,” he says.

Paulson is optimistic that the neighborhood could be built out quicker than their projections when it finally gets underway. “We had hoped to have the first building [finished] by this fall, now it’s probably next spring. We can do it in three or four phases. We’ll build as we sell.”

Given the need for housing and the interest in environmentally-friendly building, all three partners are optimistic it will prove popular with the buying public. “I’m thrilled with Dan’s concept and aspirations. I’m also highly interested in satisfying some market needs,” says Kelly.