Scottsdale’s Sterling at Silverleaf has become Arizona’s one and only single-family new construction project to be awarded Gold-level certification by the National Association of Homebuilders.

This prestigious award, under the National Association of Homebuilders’ (NAHB) green building program, NAHBGreen, has been awarded to only 400 single-family construction projects across the entire nation.

Sterling at Silverleaf is a 12-acre residential development and had its grand opening in November.

Sterling at Silverleaf earned the notable distinction in six categories of green practice, set forth by the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard.  These standards are nationally approved four-level benchmarks for rating single and multi-family homes and were created in 2007 by the NAHB and the International Code Council (ICC).

Sterling at Silverleaf was rated on factors such as lot and site development, origin of building materials, indoor environmental quality, use of advanced building methods, homeowner education and overall resource efficiency.

The Villas at Sterling at Silverleaf scored an overall rating of 56, which is 14 points more than he standard for all new construction homes.  They are estimated to be 74% more efficient than most existing homes; this efficiency can approximate to $1,347 in annual energy savings over the typical existing home and $808 in annual energy savings over a typical new home.

“What’s really exciting about this community is the fact that it is the perfect combination of luxury living with cost-effective sustainable features that are in line with global environmental initiatives,” said Tanner Luster, President of Luster Custom Homes. “Being the first homebuilder in Arizona to successfully earn a Gold rating with NAHBGreen for an entire community of new residencies is the proudest accomplishment of my professional career.”

Sterling at Silverleaf is a community feature 16 villas, 12 estates and 180 condos in Scottsdale.  The community was created in partnership with Sterling Collection Development Group and Luster Custom Homes.  The sales will open in the summer of 2011.  For more information, please visit Sterling at Silverleaf online at www.sterlingatsilverleaf.com.