By HARMONY STILES
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Home Innovation Research Labs, based in Upper Marlboro, Md., is celebrating the certification of its 700,000th green home to the National Green Building Standard.
The milestone that reflects the program’s continued momentum and the housing industry’s ongoing commitment to sustainable, high-performance and resilient housing.
The 700,000th certified project, Linden Grove Senior Residences in Bushwick, Brooklyn, transforms a former parking lot into 153 high-quality, affordable senior apartments without displacing existing residents or consuming new greenfield land.
Developed by Blue Sea Development Company and Gilbane Development, this building was built using modular construction by RCM Groupe. Architect Chris Benedict, RA, designed the building, and Karla Butterfield, master verifier at Steven Winter Associates, oversaw the rigorous NGBS third-party verification process.
Linden Grove earned certification at the Emerald level, recognizing exceptional performance across all areas of sustainability, including energy and water efficiency, resource conservation and indoor environmental quality. Linden Grove is the first project to achieve Emerald-level NGBS Green certification while also earning both the NGBS Green +WELLNESS and +UNIVERSAL DESIGN badges, an unprecedented trifecta that reflects its holistic approach to sustainability, health and accessibility.
Together these certifications underscore the project’s commitment to creating high-performance housing that supports resident well-being and enables aging in place with dignity. NGBS Green +UNIVERSAL DESIGN recognizes homes designed to be accessible and usable by people of all ages and abilities, with features that support comfort, safety and independence over a lifetime. NGBS Green +WELLNESS is awarded to projects that integrate design, construction and operational features that promote the physical and emotional well-being of residents—such as access to natural light, active living amenities and healthy indoor environments.
Linden Grove was designed to support aging in place with right-sized, step-free homes that feature wide doorways, roll-in showers and clear layouts for people with mobility or vision challenges. Each apartment includes energy-efficient appliances and smart Wi-Fi thermostats to help lower utility costs and keep temperatures steady. Residents have access to indoor and outdoor exercise areas, rooftop gardens, inviting lounges and onsite health and wellness services provided by the Jewish Association Serving the Aging.
Built to PHIUS Passive House standards, with airtight construction, solar power generation and advanced VRF HVAC systems, the project demonstrates that even on tight urban sites, thoughtful density and disciplined execution can deliver dignified, sustainable homes that promote both environmental responsibility and community well-being.
Blue Sea and Gilbane’s experience delivering performance affordable housing in New York City prepared the team for NGBS Green success. For Linden Grove, modules were fabricated offsite to a consistent standard, then set onsite. A structured, third-party verification process kept design, manufacturing and construction aligned, with airtight, well-insulated connections and clear documentation at every stage. From architects to on-site contractors, everyone worked to a shared vision of building affordable senior housing.
The NGBS Green program – recognized for its rigorous and comprehensive approach –offers builders and developers a complete framework for meeting green building, wellness and accessibility goals in a single certification. Since its inception, the program has certified homes nationwide and across all housing types, from single-family residences to large-scale multifamily developments.