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DAYTON — Quite the opposite of Joni Mitchell's 1970 ballad, Big Yellow Taxi, the Dayton-based Litehouse Development Group is turning a parking lot into a community of earth-friendly town homes.

"Folks say we're crazy to build in this (housing) market, but maybe what people are looking for is something different," said Margie Rivera, of the Litehouse Development Group. "We're giving them something different that will help them to save money."

If you're interested in purchasing a home that treads lightly on the earth, looking for ideas to make your own abode more energy efficient or just curious, you can check out ways to 'live green' during the Urban Nights event this evening.

Though unfinished, the Litehouse model town home at 123 North Patterson will be open to the public from 5 to 10 p.m. today, May 16.

Living green, Rivera said, entails more than recycling.

"Besides selling homes, a big part of what we want to do is educate people,"she said.

Care was taken when preparing home sites to minimize long-term evnironmental damage. The Dayton project is being constructed on previously developed property using existing infrastructure.

An added bonus, the downtown development called Canal Block, is part of an established housing district downtown that includes Ice Avenue Lofts, Cooper Place and Cooper Lofts.

Though only one demonstration town home is currently on the site, 39 more are planned in Dayton and 30 in West Carrollton. Other lots are available in Kettering, Harrison Twp. and the Dayton Fairgrounds neighborhood.

The design of the homes are a result of the 2007 Green Affordable Partnership competition sponsored by the Partnership for Affordable Sustainablity that includes the cities of Dayton, Kettering, West Carrollton and County Corp.

Litehouse, winner of the competition, brought together Rogero Buckman Architects, Visual Marketing Associates, Heapy Engineering and Burhill Leasing.

"A lot of thought went into making these homes look traditional, with the added green features," Rivera said.

The goal of the competition was to demostrate that homes can be friendly to the pocketbook and to the environment. The homes, selling for $175,000 to $250,000 depending on options, have low-maintenance exteriors, come outfitted with Energy-star appliances, solar reflective roofing, even water-saving bathroom fixtures and high-efficiency furnaces.

A rain harvesting system enables homeowners to water their lawns with runoff. Plastic lumber that won't rot or destroy old growth forest is used for decking. Used carpet headed for a landfill has been recycled into a new nylon fiber for flooring.

The town homes come with single-car garages and will have additional courtyard parking. Living space, about 1,400 square feet, also includes a balcony on the second floor off the living room and a roof-top terrace.

In an economy where getting a mortgage can be tough, National City Bank is providing loans at one and a half points below the current interest rate to purchasers of a Litehouse homes in trageted areas.

"Making green affordable, that's been the challenge," Margie Rivera, spokeswoman for the Litehouse Development Group said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2362 or josmith@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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