Michigan- November 2010- Lately when the phrase “Michigan home” appears in the news, it is often followed by “foreclosure” or “demolition.” However, in at least one Michigan neighborhood, residents are associating “Michigan home” with a new term− “energy efficiency.”
In July of this year, Phoenix Über Renewal, a new Saginaw company that was recently founded as a division of the Cech Corporation, purchased a foreclosed home on Mackinaw Street as an ongoing one-home renewal project. Phoenix, a company that specializes in using home energy audits to identify a house’s energy problems, intends to transform the home into a shining example of how energy audits and improvements can impact a homeowner’s energy usage (and pocketbook.)
“The reason we’re excited about this project is because it’s win/win for everyone involved,” says Phoenix Über Renewal president Hilde McDonald. “It’s helping Cech diversify; it’s creating business for our contractors, helping the neighborhood by fixing up the property, and making a positive environmental impact. It’s good for the whole community.”
Phoenix staff members have put many hours into restoring and revitalizing the home, which workers have nicknamed “The Mackinaw House.” Upgrades to date include new Energy Star roof shingles, heat-saving windows, and energy-efficient siding. In addition, workers added new rigid foam board and spray foam insulation after discovering that the exterior walls had no insulation.
In recent weeks, the Phoenix crew has made major steps in improving the Mackinaw House’s exterior, a development that has also made neighbors happy.
“The house looks outstanding compared to before,” says neighbor Mike Barber, who lives in the cul-de-sac adjacent to the Mackinaw House. “It’s a vast improvement.”
Phoenix is uncertain of the exact completion date of the Mackinaw House project, but is aiming for early 2011. Upon completion, Phoenix plans to throw a celebration and open the home to public view. Those interested in the project’s progress may follow the Mackinaw House blog at www.phoenixur.blogspot.com.
Phoenix Über Renewal is a division of the Cech Corporation, a Saginaw company that has been family owned and operated since 1936.
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Click here to be introduced to Phoenix Uber Renewal
Source: Bill McDonald, Phoenix Uber Renewal