“These businesses and organizations, large and small, all have one thing in common – they look at environmental challenges as opportunities to do things differently,” said Governor Rendell in announcing the recipients of the 2008 Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence. “These awards recognize and celebrate that unique perspective and can-do spirit that makes Pennsylvania a progressive place to do business.”

Borton-Lawson was awarded one of nine Governor's Awards for Environmental Excellence given across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the Pine Street Neighborhood.

The Pine Street Neighborhood Revitalization project encompasses a three-block area of downtown in Hazleton, Luzerne County. The area traditionally served the city as a light industrial district but for the past decade, a change in the city’s demographic caused the area to become largely vacant and no longer viable. Its location, however, made it ideal for revitalization efforts.

Borton-Lawson, an engineering and architectural firm, in partnership with the Housing Development Corp. of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Mayor Louis Barletta’s office, and other government agencies, financial institutions and community groups, spearheaded the revitalization project that focused on green technology and smart growth design of the 24 single-home complex.

Pine Street Homes have highly efficient heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting and appliances. Energy efficient construction paired with these features can provide energy cost savings of about 30 percent over standard construction. The inclusion of solar electric (photovoltaic) systems on the southern-sloped roofs of the residences to supplement the domestic hot water heater enables residents to produce their own solar energy, thereby cutting down on utility costs. Additionally, through net metering, residents have the ability to transfer any energy surplus to the local utility, in return for reductions in the billable energy consumption level.

Pine Street Home owners can expect to spend about $700 a year for energy costs verses more than $1,100 a year for owners of a traditional home built to code. In addition, ventilation heat recovery systems were used recapturing 70 percent of the heat.