From BusinessWest
By Elizabeth Taras
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Northampton-based Builders Make a Living on the Cutting Edge
Mark Ledwell, left, and Jonathan Wright. Image care of BusinessWestIt’s called the “home of the future” by its designer, Bruce Coldham of Coldham & Hartman Architests in Amherst, but it’s being lived in today.
This would be the 2,700-square-foot structure in Hadley that was honored by GreenBuilder magazine with one of its ‘Home of the Year’ awards in 2011, the only house in the Northeast to be so recognized. There are many numbers associated with this dwelling — and that prestigious award — but the most significant is 33, or minus 33, to be more precise.
That’s what the house earned for a Home Energy Rating, or HERS, which means that it produced 33% more energy than it consumed for the previous year, said Jonathan Wright, founder and president of Northampton-based Wright Builders, which constructed the home.
“Through an extremely well-designed plan, a very tight building envelope, and PV [photovoltaic] panels, we went way past zero,” said Wright, referring to the term ‘net zero’ — a benchmark used to describe structures that don’t consume more energy than they create — and putting heavy emphasis on the word ‘way.’
The GreenBuilder award judges were suitably impressed, noting that “this home’s building science is well ahead of the curve.”
That term is one increasingly used in association with projects undertaken by Wright, a nearly 40-year-old company that specializes in residential, commercial, and institutional building, and has a hard-earned reputation for being on the cutting edge of new building processes and techniques, especially with regard to energy consumption and conservation.
“Before these certifications were around, we just considered it smart building,” said Mark Ledwell, Wright’s long-time partner and the company’s co-principal, referring to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and other building benchmarks used today. “We’ve tried to keep abreast of the materials and new technologies and stay on the cutting edge; we want to make buildings that last.”
This philosophy has guided the company through every project in a broad portfolio that includes everything from a host of buildings at Smith College (one of the firm’s many clients in the education sector) to several components of the multi-faceted initiative taking shape on the grounds of the former Northampton State Hospital.
From The Gazette
by Chad Cain
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Off the Beat: Village Hill picks up steam, despite economy
An anemic economy may have slowed momentum at Village Hill Northampton, but efforts to develop the former state hospital grounds into a mix of homes and businesses is picking up steam this summer.
On the north campus, where most of the homes are being constructed, Wright Builders Inc. reports that interest in its high-end subdivision has revved back up this year. The Northampton company is also a year ahead of schedule in its development of a cluster of townhouses.
Meanwhile, the state agency overseeing the sites overall development is in negotiations with a developer for a 26-home bungalow complex north of the community gardens. MassDevelopment is expected to ink a deal with that unnamed developer rather soon, said spokeswoman Kelsey Abbruzzese.
Finally, on the developments south campus, Kollmorgen Electro-Opticals new 140,000-square-foot manufacturing and office facility is expected to be completed in a few months, at which time the company plans to move its 370-plus employee workforce there from its King Street headquarters.
As for the home construction already under way, Jonathan Wright of Wright Builders said that nine of the 11 high-end, single-family lots in its Morningside subdivision are spoken for. Three of those homes are already built and one is under construction. Work on three more is slated for the fall, with two more to begin next spring.
Meanwhile, the 12-unit Eastview townhouse complex is selling fast. The first of three buildings is finished, with the units selling for between $269,000 and $349,000, depending on their location and whether they have two or three bedrooms.
From The Republican
Saturday, May 17, 2008
By Fred Contrada
The developers of Village Hill harked back to the days of Northampton State Hospital yesterday as they prepared to build a new community on the rubble of the former hospital for the mentally ill.
The groundbreaking paved the way for the construction of 11 single-family homes, 12 townhouse and 40 units of mixed-income housing on what was once called Hospital Hill. The ceremony took place on the site of Old Main, the hospital’s administrative building and architectural centerpiece. Old Main was demolished last year.
Jonathan A. Wright, the chief executive officer of Wright Builders Inc., told a gathering of dignitaries that he hopes the neighborhood of houses he is building will contribute to the site’s rich history.
From The Republican
Sunday, February 03, 2008
By Nancy Gonter
The 33 single-family homes and townhouses that Wright Builders plans to construct at Village Hill Northampton will be some of the greenest homes in the city.
Jonathan A. Wright, president of Wright Builders of 48 Bates St., said that construction of the homes will follow the exacting standards required to get the so-called LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification which was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council for environmentally sustainable construction.
Construction to the “LEED” standard requires documenting during the construction process that less waste was sent to landfills, miles driven for the project are limited and that soil on the site is conserved, Wright said. There are a series of other standards that must also be followed, he said.
Plans for the future “smart growth” development of the north campus of the former Northampton State Hospital are taking shape.
On Thursday, the Planning Board approved two housing projects proposed by Wright Builders, for what is now called Village Hill.
One project, called Eastview, is expected to develop 12 condominium, market-rate townhouse units in three buildings, all within a single two-thirds of an acre parcel of Village Hill.
Eastview – which would be located at the corner of Olander Drive and Moser Street – is expected to be pedestrian-friendly and will include walkways and bicycle racks.
Another neighborhood, called Morningside, will call for the construction of 11 market-rate single family homes just across the street from Eastview along Olander Drive. Each home in Morningside is expected to include a garage, front porch, back deck, and adjoining private backyard patio. The Morningside homes will also share a common sidewalk running along Olander Drive.
If all goes according to plan, 2008 will leave Northampton looking markedly different than it looked on Jan. 1.
A number of major construction projects will change the face of downtown Northampton and nearby Hospital Hill. The latter, which in recent years has been used mostly for sledding, will take a giant step toward begin turned it into a village with businesses and residents of all income levels.
Once the city’s biggest employer, Northampton State Hospital was a village of sorts in its heyday, with its own farm, bowling alley and beauty parlor. Since the Department of Mental Health began relocating patients into the community in the early 1990s, the city has dreamed of turning the site into a new kind of village.
