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Island Residences Redefine Luxury Through Green Design

Posted on: Wednesday, 21 March 2007, 18:00 CDT

Forging new territory in Hawaii's housing market, an upscale community development on Maui marks Hawaii's first residential project to include extensive "green" design features. Called Maluaka, this unprecedented development brings the broad appeal of environmental sensitivity into the influential luxury market to combine sophistication with healthy living.

Located on Makena Bay in South Maui, the 11-acre Maluaka community will comprise 69 elegant residences with prices beginning at $5 million. Dowling Company Inc. is infusing the development with measures that benefit the owners' health and preserve the island's exceptional beauty and fragile eco-system.

By incorporating sustainable measures into the Makena Bay project, Dowling Company places Maluaka's owners and investors among the first to capitalize on this trend in the arena of high-end residential developments. The sustainable design aspects of the project will include a variety of measures from land use management and storm water retention to a photovoltaic system and use of low-emitting materials.

In order to verify that the project's green measures meet high standards, Maluaka will obtain two levels of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. LEED is a performance-oriented rating system for sustainable projects administered by the U.S. Green Building Council. Dowling Company has committed to achieving LEED Gold certification for Maluaka's club and a Silver rating for the residences.

Earning these LEED certifications will make Maluaka the first residential project in Hawaii to attain these awards.

Christine Ervin, past president of the U.S. Green Building Council and former Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in the Clinton Administration, states: "It's still all too rare to see sustainable design and operations being integrated into developments like this. Maluaka could help turn that around. By pushing the envelope here, more and more buyers will start asking for properties that couple small environmental footprints with large amounts of personal satisfaction."

Construction on Maluaka is slated to begin in spring 2007 with completion scheduled for winter 2009. Information may be found at www.maluaka.com.

Source: Business Wire

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