Solar panels atop homes in Hunters Point. Courtesy of Hunters Point
A new community of net-zero homes in Florida is being touted as nearly disaster-proof.
Homes in Hunters Point, which start at $1.4 million, have already withstood two hurricanes.
“We built these homes to be able to address the climate crisis,” said developer Marshall Gobuty.
Florida faces a crisis of rising insurance costs in the face of increasing extreme weather. Already, major insurers have pulled out of the state and Floridians have been hit with skyrocketing home insurance bills.
One solution, according to real estate developer Marshall Gobuty, is to build more resilient homes.
“People say they build to code, and my answer is ‘Great,'” he told Business Insider. “Building on coding and doing things that haven’t been done before is something to be proud of.”
Enter Hunters Point. An 86-unit community in Cortez, Fla., an hour south of Tampa, created by Gobuty’s company, Pearl Homes. Residents moved into net-zero single-family homes for the first time in 2022, and they have so far weathered two hurricanes while producing more energy than they consume.
Recently, the Hunters Point insurance company used for builders insurance said it was not writing new policies, but Gobuty and his team were able to find coverage by showing construction details of homes, such as vents on the ground floor that drain water and refill water. -metal strapping that ties the property together into a single unit – which Gobuty says changed their minds.
“They cover for us because of the way we built our houses,” he told BI.
This is important because major insurers have recently fled Florida due to the increased risk. Since 2022, a dozen insurance companies have declared insolvency, stopped issuing new policies, or gone out of state altogether. The state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is now the main insurer as private companies withdraw.
Take a look at the groundbreaking Hunters Point development.
The community of Hunters Point is located on a bay separated from the Gulf of Mexico by a barrier island.
An aerial view of the Hunters Point development in Cortez, Florida. Courtesy of Hunters Point
Cortez, Florida, where the Hunters Point development is located, is known for its white sand beaches and historic fishing villages.
A small town of more than 4,000 people, Cortez is an hour south of Tampa, near Bradenton Beach, a popular vacation destination.
Hunters Point developer Marshall Gobuty challenged his team to build homes that were both net zero and LEED certified.
Hunters Point and Palma Sola Bay nearby. Courtesy of Hunters Point
In the past, residential homes have been left behind in the push to build sustainable LEED-certified developments, Gobuty said.
“There are a lot of museums and commercial buildings, but residential is really like a step-sister. It’s not traditionally dominant for LEED,” he told Business Insider.
LEED is a certification developed by the US Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization, that verifies a building’s sustainable design and efficient energy use, according to the Green Building Council. Net zero means that the amount of energy a building consumes is equal to the amount of energy it produces through renewable means, according to the federal government.
Gobuty’s team built the first prototype house in a warehouse.
Homes in Hunters Point. Courtesy of Hunters Point
The team observed the prototype for 18 months in conditions recreating the changing seasons before beginning real-world construction.
Gobuty has been able to develop homes that actually produce more energy than they consume.
Solar panels atop homes in Hunters Point. Courtesy of Hunters Point
Gobuty decided he wanted the homes to use a mix of solar and batteries, choosing German startup SonnenBatterie to provide the units needed to power the homes.
“We produce 35% more energy than we modeled and we consume 25% less,” Gobuty said.
Better insulation also helps homes save energy.
The patio of a Hunters Point property Courtesy of Hunters Point
Gobuty explained that his team used 2×6 insulation boards for Hunters Point homes instead of the typical 2x4s.
“It creates resilience, strength and also keeps that wrap tight,” he said.
In fact, when Hunters Point conducted industry-standard “blower door” testing, a diagnostic tool for determining how much air is escaping from the home, the testing was more stringent than the established evaluation system, Gobuty said.
Gobuty’s team also added double the amount of fill under the houses.
Living spaces begin on the second floor of the homes. Courtesy of Hunters Point
From the beginning, the intention of the project was to withstand major storms, which is why Hunters Point homes start 16 feet above sea level.
“We built these houses to be able to address the climate crisis,” Gobuty told Insider.
The first real tests for Hunters Point homes took place in 2022 and 2023.
The facade of Hunters Point houses. Courtesy of Hunters Point
In 2022, when only three homes were completed, Hurricane Ian hit Florida. A year later, Hurricane Idalia affected more than 20 Hunters Point homes.
“We had a giant wave that completely covered the docks,” Gobuty remembers.
But the homes weathered the storms, both labeled Category 5 and Category 4 respectively.
Inside one of the houses in Hunters Point. Courtesy of Hunters Point
“We woke up the next morning as usual,” Hunters Point resident William Fulford told the Wall Street Journal in late 2023 of his life there during a storm. “It’s a pretty damn solid house.”
There is no typical profile for Hunters Point residents, Gobuty said.
The kitchen and dining room of the Hunters Point house Courtesy of Hunters Point
“There are young families who have joined and are very focused on sustainability and resilience, and they love it,” Gobuty said. “Then we have retirees who love the fact that they don’t have utility bills.”
That’s right, Hunters Point residents aren’t paying their electric bills.
A kitchen in Hunters Point. Courtesy of Hunters Point
Gobuty explained that each homeowner has a battery specific to their home.
If their home is capable of producing $150 worth of electricity and their utility bill is $150, the state-owned Florida Power and Light gives them a credit that erases the cost.
“We haven’t had an electric bill yet,” resident Fulford told the Washington Post earlier this year.
Homes in Hunters Point currently cost between $1.2 million and $1.8 million.
A room in a house in Hunters Point. Courtesy of Hunters Point
Each lot measures 3,300 square feet, and each single-family home has approximately 1,650 square feet of interior space, according to Fox Business. Some have three bedrooms, two full bathrooms and one half bathroom, and the HOA fee is $450 per month, according to a Zillow listing. The ground floor of the three-story units has a garage with two spaces, according to the listing.
Gobuty hopes this project will set a new, cutting-edge standard in sustainability for Florida.
A patio in one of the Hunters Point homes. Courtesy of Hunters Point
Hurricane Ian alone destroyed nearly 5,000 homes in Florida in 2022, according to NPR.
Gobuty believes the solution to preventing this from happening again starts with intentional design and construction.
“You have to do better than you can just do to build the code,” Gobuty told BI. “There are responsibilities you have to take on now as a homebuilder.”