KAUZ-TV: NewsChannel 6 Now | Wichita Falls, TXSneak Peak At The First Green Development In Northwest Texas

Sneak Peak At The First Green Development In Northwest Texas

The first green development in Northwest Texas is just ten minutes from Wichita Falls.

It's called The Prairie and is a 200 acre residential area.

Newschannel 6 Lindsey Rogers met with the developers and got a first hand look at this one of a kind neighborhood.

"There's nothing like this, the man hours put in, the mindset put into this, the vision put into this, it's really unlike anything else," Bishop Realtor owner Ashton Gustafson said.

The Prairie sits off FM 1954 on Decker Road in Archer City.

In phase one, there are 15 lots each between five and seven acres, three of those are already sold.

"We wanted to create a country home feel but have the cohesiveness of a neighborhood," developer Lynn Connolly said.

She and her husband Timothy are the project developers along with John Hirschi.

Their goal is to preserve and restore the natural tallgrass prairie while incorporating green or sustainable practices at each home.

We got a sneak peak of the Connolly's home being constructed by a builder out of the metroplex who specializes in high performance houses.

"It will be extremely energy efficient, more durable and very sustainable," builder Chris Miles said.

"Each home is required to have roof top water collection system to help in efficiency of their homes and to help in fire prevention," Lynn Connolly said.

Every house is also required to have double paned windows.

"We have a north south orientation which will take advantage of prevailing south winds," she said.

All the wood beams in the home are from old barns and even the paint used is environmentally friendly.

miles sends excess wood and dry wall to the shredder for garden mulch and pad for the driveway.

"We try to recycle about 80 percent of the waste left over from the house," he said.

While the homes are designed to save energy, they're also made to last.

"It's really one of those houses that hopefully 50 years down the road will be performing then the same way it does now. It will really hold value," Miles said.

Which may help make the 10 to 15 percent up charge worth it.

"Yes, you are spending more to get a house like this but once you've spent that, it starts paying for itself the day you move in," Miles said.

He estimates the electric bill for the Connolly's 3,400 square foot house will only be $75-100 a month.

"It's all about dollars and cents, it's all about dollars and cents," Lynn Connolly said.

When the development is complete The Prairie will have three and a half miles of walking trails and two ponds stocked with fish.

For more information on pricing click here.