First Holy Cross Green Home Completed; 21st Century Shotgun Opens as Lower Ninth Visitor Center

"It's very exciting to see our vision of a healthier, greenerNew Orleans coming to fruition," said Matt Petersen, president of Global Green USA. "This project was never about just one home or one project. This model sustainable village is about showing what is possible here inNew Orleans and throughout the country to protect all of our coastal cities threatened by global warming -- by working together to build a better, more energy-efficient and healthier world."

"We are honored to be supporting such an important effort to help the Holy Cross and Ninth Ward communities rebuild affordable, healthier green homes that can be replicated throughoutNew Orleans and the Gulf Coast," said Kelly Caffarelli, president of The Home Depot Foundation. "The Foundation supports the construction of homes for families that are healthy to live in and affordable to own for the long-term and this project is another step in advancing our mission and ensuring that the Gulf region is built back stronger than it was before the hurricanes of 2005."

At the celebration, Global Green and the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association (HCNA) announced that there will be four docents, who, along with Global Green staff, will lead tours of the completed home. Global Green also announced that it will provide temporary office space in the home for the HCNA. Global Green anticipates the visitor's center will educate thousands of visitors, residents, developers and elected officials on ways to create greener, more affordable homes.

Global Green supporter Salma Hayek recently toured the completed home. She remarked that the home has great value as a symbol of hope for the entire region.

"This house was built with so much love and it was the dream of a collective group of people who are trying to change things in the world. I think that what has happened here has been a wake up call and the courage and dignity from the people who have faced this tragedy has been something that will motivate all of us," said Hayek.

About the Holy Cross Project

The Holy Cross neighborhood project, based on a winning design by Matthew Berman and Andrew Kotchen of Workshop/APD, was selected from among 125 concepts submitted through the "Sustainable Design forNew Orleans" competition. The home, whose solar panels will generate enough electricity to power the home, will be LEED Platinum certified. It is being built with all green products and energy efficient systems that will save residents money, reduce exposure to toxic chemicals and lower climate pollution. The full project design can be viewed at www.globalgreen.org. The privately funded mixed-use residential development will feature an 18 unit multi-family building, five single-family homes and a community center with essential services for working families, such as daycare and retail space. The green interior design for the Holy Cross Visitor Center was designed and donated by Domino Magazine.

About Global Green USA

Global Green USA, the American affiliate of President Gorbachev's Green Cross International, was founded by Diane Meyer Simon in 1993. Its field office and green building resource center opened in early 2006, and serves as a focal point of green building expertise forNew Orleans residents and leads its "Healthy Homes, Smart Neighborhoods" initiative whose Honorary National Task Force includes: Julian Bond, Gen. Wesley Clark, Leonardo DiCaprio, Morgan Freeman, Lee Hamilton, Pat Mitchell and David Orr. Global Green USA has been a national leader in green building for affordable housing, schools and communities for more than a decade and has influenced more than $20 billion dollars in green construction.

About The Home Depot Foundation

The Home Depot Foundation was created in 2002 to further the community building goals of The Home Depot. The Home Depot Foundation is dedicated to building affordable homes for working families that are healthy to live in and affordable to own. To make homes healthy and affordable, the Foundation encourages developers to incorporate responsible design and use durable and quality materials to ensure that homes are more energy and water efficient, have good indoor air quality, and provide a safe and healthy space to live. Since its formation, The Home Depot Foundation has granted $70 million to nonprofit organizations and supported the development of more than 50,000 affordable, healthy homes. For more information, visit www.homedepotfoundation.org.

SOURCE Global Green USA

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Tags: Environment, Building and Construction, Oil, Gas and Energy, , louisiana

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