Texas housing developer secures new wastewater agreement
AUSTIN, TX, Feb. 28, 2008 -- Green Builders Inc., the leading large-scale community developer of green, sustainable homes in the Austin, Texas area, announced that it has successfully secured the Pflugerville City Council's vote on a new wastewater service agreement that will affect the New Sweden community being developed by Green Builders Inc. The new agreement will reduce utility bills for New Sweden homeowners, allow the city to provide retail wastewater service and will replace the 973 Wastewater Company.
The new wastewater service agreement with the City of Pflugerville will require Green Builders to pay for a minimum of 150 LUEs of sewer capacity per year at the city impact fee of $2,414 per LUE, which equates to $362,100 per year. This is the same impact fee the city charges all of its customers. In addition, the developer will post a letter of credit for 300 LUEs, or $724,200, until 750 LUEs have been paid over the next five years. The letter of credit does not have to be posted until Green Builders begins construction on the first phase of the New Sweden MUD #1 development, which is planned for late 2008.
"This is a win-win situation for Green Builders and future home owners in the New Sweden development," explains Clark Wilson, CEO and President of Green Builders. "We're saving a significant amount of money with this new agreement which we can pass directly onto the home owner."
This restructuring of the wastewater service agreements equates to a savings of $3,594,000 for Green Builders, not including the cost associated with the required letter of credit. Additionally, because the city's retail service rate to the homeowner is approximately $15 per month lower than the retail service rate would have been, New Sweden homeowners will have a utility bill savings of approximately $180 per year.
The previous wastewater service agreement between the 973 Wastewater Company and New Sweden MUD #1 required Green Builders to pay for a minimum of 150 LUEs of wastewater capacity per year at the rate of $4,810 per LUE, or $721,500 per year. The developer would have also been required to post a letter of credit for $3.9 million in March of this year that would be in place for as long as 13 years.
With the development of New Sweden, Green Builders introduces the advent of the first large scale community in the Central Texas area to feature all the green elements of a low impact development, as well as organic agriculture to create an all-inclusive environment where food is cultivated, harvested and consumed all in one place. Green Builders continues to add value to the communities it builds and is proud to announce yet another significant enhancement to the economics of this exciting upcoming project.
Green Builders Inc., a subsidiary of Wilson Holdings Inc. (WIH), combines the equal necessities of progress and preservation by building homes that tread lightly on the earth.
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