The impact of sustainable rehabilitation of homes in Muncie was discussed when the founder of not-for-profit organization spoke on Wednesday.
EcoREHAB is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to provide leadership in sustainable rehabilitation of existing houses.
“We’ve completed three [houses], we’ve advised on another one and advised by technical support for another organization and we’re in the midst of doing the fourth that’s all ours,” founder Jonathan Spodek said.
Working collaboratively with Ball State students, ecoREHAB also helps teach the ins and outs of a building project. Student involvement includes graduate assistantships, summer internships and students enrolled for credit.
“They [students] get a better understanding on actually how something is built,” Spodek said. “I think they get a better understanding of the complexity of project development.”
Spodek said in the city of Muncie alone, roughly 1 in 10 houses have been vacant or abandoned for 90 days or more.
EcoREHAB has strict design guidelines to create a house that is both functional and brings a home into the 21st century. The house has to meet the environmental metric that ecoREHAB has established. This standard includes reduction of construction waste, reclaiming and reusing as much as possible, water management, cool roofs, energy conservation, site development, and thermal and pressure barrier.
“A lot of our energy is used through homes, so if we could make our homes more sustainable we are going to be using a lot less energy,” said Susan Lankford, instructor of architecture.
EcoREHAB has created partnerships with other community housing development organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and Pathstone. The organization is currently working with the city and many CHDOs to rehab West Main Street, where ecoREHAB has just completed their most recent house. Other houses on this street are close to being completed.
“I think we were able to highlight the good parts of these neighborhoods,” Spodek said. “Yes, there is potential here, don’t blow it off just because it is the old west end or east central neighborhood. Don’t just count those off.”
“I love the neighborhood,” Christopher Allen, who bought the first ecoREHAB house, said. “Our mortgage is about $150 less than what we were paying in rent.”
