Melridge earned a 5 Star Green Rating from Austin Energy (AE Green Building), it’s highest rating available for its design, durability of construction, and environmental friendliness.  Actual point totals vary by unit and range from 134 -143 points on a 125 point scale.

The site itself promotes a green and active lifestyle, as its central location encourages daily foot and bicycle transportation.  Durable materials are used throughout, including stained concrete lower levels, stranded bamboo flooring upstairs, 2×6 wall construction, Quartz (Caesarstone) Countertops, and largely stucco exterior, to name a few.  The spray foam insulation

Spray Foam Insulation in Exterior Wall

package combined with upgraded windows (Andersen 100 Series, a recycled fiberglass product), smart building design, and a CFL lighting package combine to save hundreds in monthly utility bills, adding value for our homeowners and the environment.  Toilets are dual flush, saving thousands of gallons of water each year.  Plants and grasses were carefully selected from the Grow Green List of native Texas plants, thus requiring much less water to maintain.

For stormwater controls, we went the extra mile to ensure the protection of our aquifer.  All rainwater that hits the roofs is directed into a gutter system that distributes the water underground for irrigation, and the excess is

Front Pond & Landscapes

directed into a BioRetention Pond for holding and filtering the water before it ultimately ends up in an onsite cistern where it dissolves into the ground.  The pond is full of lush vegetation whose roots absorb the lion’s share of all water directed there, so very little ends up in the storm sewer infrastructure.  The section of underground pipe that weaves its way through the Live Oaks is perforated, allowing the rainwater to percolate and be absorbed by the trees to ensure their long term health.  The low impact driveways further mitigate the impact on the trees, and allow them to grab additional nutrients from the rainstorms.