ecoREHAB Event

The ecoREHAB initiative

Date: Friday, June 24, 2011
Time: 3pm-5pm
Starting Location: 601 E. Washington Street, Muncie IN (Southeast corner of E. Washington St & Monroe St., across the street from Cornerstone Center for the Arts, the historic Masonic Temple designed by Cuno Kibele)

Program Description: Learn about the efforts of the ecoREHAB initiative through a presentation of ecoREHAB, its approach to sustainable rehabilitation for affordable housing, and visit 2 ecoREHAB projects. We will start at 601 E Washington Street where an overview of ecoREHAB will be presented. This
house was the 1st project completed by students at Ball State. We will then visit 522 S. Gharkey Street, a project currently under construction.

Following the program, you are invited to join us at a local establishment for some Friday evening refreshments.

Website: http://sncope.iweb.bsu.edu/485final/index.html

More information: The ecoREHAB initiative was established in 2009. Working collaboratively with Ball State University, the City of Muncie’s Department of Community Development and the local non-profit agency ecoREHAB of Muncie, Inc. This outreach program’s aim is to provide leadership in the ecologically sound, green and sustainable rehabilitation of existing and abandoned housing. This initiative benefits not only Ball State students, but also the communities of Muncie in taking steps to achieving the National Goals Towards Sustainable Development in the areas of environmental protection, economic prosperity and social equity.

Communities need resources to aid homeowners, neighborhood groups, and developers and a strategy for re-investment in the existing housing stock and older neighborhoods. These are some of the city’s greatest assets, but they are presently devalued and under-utilized. Affordability has often looked only at rents or first cost but ignore the ongoing costs of maintenance, utilities, and the long term impact on neighborhoods. The perception that costs traditionally associated with rehabbing older homes are higher than new construction leads to a desire for new housing. Yet, “the greenest building is the one that is already built,” and research shows that existing buildings have the potential to be far more energy efficient than commonly assumed. The green movement is creating an ever expanding toolbox of products, materials, and strategies that can be used to address these concerns.