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2011 Media Releases & Alerts

For Immediate Release
Contact: Anne Holtz Schmick

NAHB Research Center Announces Pardee Homes Commitment to 'Gold Standard' for Green Building

California Production Builder Seeks National Certification for LivingSmart® Homes at Fair Oaks Ranch®

May 6, 2011, Los Angeles, CA - Pardee Homes is California's first production homebuilder to commit to certifying an entire community of homes to the National Green Building Standard™ (NGBS) by the NAHB Research Center, an internationally recognized, independent third party. All of Pardee's new LivingSmart® Homes in Santa Clarita's Fair Oaks Ranch®, will be built to the Gold-level criteria of the NGBS, inspected at least twice by an accredited green verifier, and Green Certified by the Research Center.

By seeking third-party certification of the green products, practices and systems incorporated into its LivingSmart homes in Fair Oaks Ranch, Pardee is providing added assurance for its buyers that the homes meet or exceed both the NGBS criteria and California's new CalGreen regulations. The NGBS is the world's only reidential green rating system approved by the American National Standards Institute and is therefore the home building industry's "gold standard" definition of credible green construction.

Michael Luzier, president of the NAHB Research Center, today announced Pardee's community-wide commitment to seek Gold certfication for the homes in Fair Oaks Ranch, and commented on what a strong message that commitment conveys to homebuyers.

"Pardee is really raising the bar for what consumers should come to expect when seeking their next new home," said Luzier. "The NAHB Research Center doesn't take lightly the meaning conveyed by issue of our Green Certified mark, and clearly Pardee doesn't take lightly its responsibility to the local environment and the comfort, health, and well-being of its homebuyers. They are 'walking the green walk' with the homes in this community and I applaud the company's commitment."

Pardee Homes President and CEO Michael McGee noted that NGBS home certification goes beyond individual home performance to consider how the location adds to a homebuyer's green lifestyle. Among sustainable attributes that will help Fair Oaks Ranch homes earn Gold certification are walkable neighborhoods; proximity to Metrolink, schools, shopping and recreation; water-savings measures and open space preservation.

"Expansion and improvement define our 13 years of green homebuilding," said McGee. "NGBS certification sets an important benchmark that we are proud to incorporate into our green building program."

Find out more about the NAHB Research Center's National Green Building Certification Program online. Visit www.pardeehomes.com/living-green/ for more information on Pardee Homes and its LivingSmart homes.

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05/11

ABOUT THE NAHB RESEARCH CENTER: The NAHB Research Center, located in Upper Marlboro, Md., promotes innovation in housing technology to improve the quality, durability, affordability, and environmental performance of homes and home building products. Created nearly 50 years ago as a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the NAHB Research Center has established itself as the source for reliable, objective information and research on housing construction and development issues. Through its various testing and certification services, the Research Center seal is internationally-recognized as a mark of product quality and an assurance of product performance.

NOTE TO EDITORS ON STYLE USAGE: To identify this company and its work correctly, first reference should be "NAHB Research Center." If clarification of the acronym is necessary, the phrase, "a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)," can follow. In subsequent mentions, "Research Center" is the only acceptable and accurate alternative reference.