RUTLAND—Rutland’s Innovation Home, a super-efficient home at 60 Cleveland Avenue to be given away in a contest designed to raise awareness about available jobs, energy innovation and the community, is weeks ahead of schedule – and organizers are extending the deadline to apply to win it, to June 18.
Green Mountain Power, Naylor & Breen Builders, the United Way of Rutland County, NBF Architects and dozens of partners started the project Feb. 26, and after just eight weeks are within a month of completion. Siding is going up, the interior got its first coat of paint on Monday, and lights, flooring and appliances will soon be installed.
The cutting-edge, energy-smart home replaces a dilapidated house purchased for $1 from the city of Rutland. The prize includes the mortgage-free home, complete with solar, heat pumps, two Tesla Powerwall storage batteries, a pellet stove and an innovative insulation package, a local “concierge” to provide assistance with job searches and business and personal contacts, and free co-working space if desired at GMP’s Energy Innovation Center downtown.
“By extending the contest deadline and showing off the nearly complete home, we think we can further spread the word about Rutland, available jobs and the contest,” said GMP Vice President Steve Costello.
Tanner Romano, vice president at Naylor & Breen Builders, who is overseeing construction, said this has been a great partnership with so many businesses excited to be part of the project. “Our subcontractors have done an amazing job, completing every facet of the project quicker than expected, while ensuring high-quality work,” Romano said.
Students from Stafford Technical Center and the College of St. Joseph helped install decking, hand rails, and siding Friday, April 28.
Costello said applications to win the home continue to arrive almost daily, some from local residents but the majority from other states.
“We’ve had applications from California, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, and throughout New England and New York,” Costello said. “Many applicants have ties to and are passionate about Vermont, and the Rutland area in particular. Reviewing the applications has been a great reminder of things many of us take for granted: our beautiful surroundings, world-class skiing and recreation, the sense of community, quality education, low crime rates, and deeply rooted arts and cultural opportunities.”
Entry into the contest, which is free to any U.S. citizen over the age of 18, requires submission of a 500-word essay explaining why the applicant wants to live in the Rutland Innovation Home and what the individual or family would bring to community life in Rutland.
The contest will end at midnight Eastern Daylight Time June 18, 2018. Contest information and complete rules are at Rutland Innovation Home Contest.
A nine-member committee of community and business leaders will select 10 finalists based on their applications and essays, and will select the winner based on the essays, background checks and interviews. The 1,500-square-foot traditional New England farmhouse style, designed by NBF’s Edward Clark, will include three bedrooms, one and a half baths, a wide front porch, and the latest in energy technology and controls.