The Green Westchester Housing Market, By The Numbers

These exquisite homes blend beauty and style with energy efficacy and a lower carbon footprint, proving it’s possible to have the best of both worlds.

$1,115,000

94 Betsy Brown Cir, Port Chester
7 bedrooms | 7 baths | 5,670 square feet

What’s to like? There’s rarely a need to turn on the lights in this ultra energy-efficient home thanks to an open, bright interior infused with natural light. The unique design, featuring seven bedroom suites, makes the most of indoor/outdoor living starting from the entryway accented with a stunning natural stone wall that opens to a vast great room with surround sound. Originally built in 1968, a later expansion added a spacious sleek master bedroom suite (complete with master bath, walk-in-closet, fireplace, and private balcony) and a fully loaded gourmet kitchen. The renovation repurposed the home’s original kitchen into a kitchenette, creating an ideal au pair suite that also includes a bedroom, second laundry, and separate entrance. The luxe living is equally grand outdoors with lush landscaped grounds, an in-ground pool, hot tub, built-in grill, and expansive patio.

Green features: 28 solar panels; blown-in insulation; three-day solar-powered back-up battery generator; a tight building envelop confirmed by a blower door test; four heating and cooling zones; bamboo floors throughout with radiant heat flooring in the kitchen and master bedroom; two compost bins; and rain barrels.

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What’s not? Buyers unfamiliar with green properties may not appreciate all of the eco-friendly benefits of this home.

Katherine A. Doherty (NAR Green Designee), (914) 774-2164, and H. Juergen Hess, Houlihan Lawrence; www.houlihanlawrence.com


$2,475,000

7 Fairlawn Ave, Dobbs Ferry
5 bedrooms | 5.5 baths | 5,100 square feet 

What’s to like? One lucky buyer has the opportunity to become the owner of the coveted last (and largest) of 11 new luxury waterfront homes in Dobbs Ferry’s The View with an energy efficiency that’s estimated to keep gas and electric bills as low as $250 per month. Constructed with a sophisticated design by local custom builders Doug Austrian and Leslie Cohen, the semi-custom approach allows for additional customization with a range of colors and finishings, such as cabinetry, granite or marble countertops, flooring, tile work, lighting, and even additional green choices. The fully LEED-certified Colonial features a grand rotunda entrance, library, formal living room and dining room, five bedrooms (including a luxurious master bedroom suite with sitting room) all with soaring ceilings and high-end finishes. And, the phenomenal unobstructed Hudson River views leave no doubt how The View acquired its name. An added bonus: It’s just a short walk to downtown Dobbs Ferry and Metro-North.

Green features: geothermal heating and cooling; efficient Buderus furnace; high-efficiency, low-energy windows; cellulose foam insulation; efficient LED lighting; and option for radiant heat flooring.

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What’s not? The nontraditional design may be an adjustment for some.

Al Vanacoro, (914) 282-9911, Better Homes & Gardens Rand Realty; www.randrealty.com


$3,649,000

505 Alda Rd, Mamaroneck
6 bedrooms | 5.5 baths | 5,192 square feet  

What’s to like? It’s not often that you find a passive house on the market packed with green features, including an electric car-charging station. Considered Westchester’s first official passive house (certified by the International Passive House Institute), this eco gem boasts such an efficient use of solar power and an air recirculation system that brings the average heating and cooling bill down to simply the cost of connecting to the utility grid—a mere estimated $40 a month. Now that’s savings! Even the home’s outdoor space is sustainable, including a pergola built to take advantage of the angle of the sun’s rays—effectively blocking heat in summer and the reverse in winter. Its super eco-friendly features in no way detract from the home’s sleek, clean design that takes full advantage of breathtaking panoramic views of the Mamaroneck Harbor.

Green features: An energy recovery system that pulls in, filters, and recycles air every three hours; 28 solar panels that generate and feed energy back into the grid; triple-pane, cork-insulated, hurricane-proof windows; state-of-the-art layered insulation; efficient LED lighting; efficient gas stove capable of heating the entire house; low PVC interior paint; and energy efficient induction kitchen cooktop.

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What’s not? Two of the six bedrooms are on the smaller side.

Katie Becker McLoughlin, (914) 522-3521, Houlihan Lawrence; www.houlihanlawrence.com


$4,650,000

2 Crown Cir, Bronxville
6 bedrooms | 6.5 baths | 5,983 square feet

What’s to like? The best eco-friendly property just might be the one you build yourself. This soon-to-be-built home combines the very best of comfort, style, and ongoing energy efficiency. Imagine: six bedrooms—each with its own ensuite bath—including a posh 700-square-foot master suite with surround sound and remote HDMI, his and hers custom walk-in closets, a stunning marble master bath with a free-standing soaking tub and frameless glass rainwater shower; a junior master suite; a first-floor guest suite; a chef’s kitchen with oversized island and counter seating; and an entertainment-ready flow—all ideally set on a quiet cul-de-sac. Building science practitioner and custom builder Steve Dallal (owner of Cadco Corp) used his integrated approach, from design and finishes to building envelope and mechanical systems—doing everything possible to reduce the heating and cooling load, including using one crew from start to finish. As a result, the energy cost is expected to be 40 to 50 percent less than typical new construction.

Green features: 100-percent nontoxic National Fiber blown-in cellulose insulation ensuring even heating and cooling and exceptional sound control; two ultra-high efficiency modulating furnaces; four-zone heating and cooling; two tankless hot-water systems; back-up generator; and Dallal’s custom 2,000-bottle-capacity WineStudio wine cellar built using his same green approach.

What’s not? The home’s open floor plan rules out a formal dining room.

Kathleen Collins, (914) 715-6052, Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty; www.2crowncircle.com  


$799,000 or $4,500/month

72 Young Ave, Croton-on-Hudson
5 bedrooms | 4 baths | 3,150 square feet

What’s to like? It doesn’t take millions to live green; it just requires finding the right property. This spacious five-bedroom house originally began as a much smaller 1950s one-level home, but went green when it was gutted and completely custom-rebuilt from its foundation up in 2008. Current owners Hilary and Willy Wriggers even put their own green stamp on it, adding a radiant barrier in the attic, honeycomb shades, energy-saving capacitor, foam-sealed rim joists, front storm door, and LED lighting. They also appreciated the simplicity and clean lines of the home’s European design, including an all-oak kitchen, unique custom tile work in all four bathrooms, hardwood and tile flooring, and simple stained-wood molding throughout. And it couldn’t be better located—within walking distance to shopping, dining, parks, Metro-North, and the Croton River’s Silver Lake beach. 

Green features: passive solar building design; ultra-efficient four-zone hydronic radiant floor-heating system; high-R-value insulation (heat resistance for maximum thermal performance); radiant barrier under the roof keeping attic temperature within 10 degrees of the outside, reducing the home’s heat load and making the attic ideal for storage; double-pane Andersen windows; and Energy Star appliances.

What’s not? This property has everything but a garage.

Helena Macintyre, (914) 557-6253, North Country Sotheby’s International Realty; www.helenamacintyrehomes.com

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