Southeastern Virginia Training Center is a partner in the community-based system of support for persons with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities. They provide education, habilitation, and health services and promote dignity, self-determination and empowerment for this special needs group and their families. W.M. Jordan Company provided Design-Build services for a replacement center consisting of fifteen five-bedroom, single story homes at the existing SEVTC campus. The homes are divided into three residential blocks with an open, accessible green area on each lane for physically challenged residents. All homes are designed and built to meet LEED® for Homes standards, and the project achieved LEED for Homes certification from the USGBC.
LEED® for Homes takes the practices and principles from LEED® for New Construction in the commercial world and applies them to a residential setting. Some LEED® for Homes features used at Southeastern Virginia Training Center include geothermal heat pump units that use the temperature of the earth to help heat and cool the homes; occupancy sensing lighting that only turn on when a room is occupied by residents; low-flow plumbing fixtures; Energy Star rated appliances in both the kitchen and laundry areas; and water tolerant landscaping and grass. All of these features and more help make the homes more efficient as well as more comfortable for the residents of Southeastern Virginia Training Center. More information regarding LEED® for Homes can be found here.
