I was interviewed today by Tina Vasquez a writer who is working on a new website about home design. I am sure she is going to take the interview and turn it into an article but I liked her questions and had fun answering them so I thought I might share them with you here. Warning, there is a bit of a spoiler on our next announcement in the last question…

T.V. What are “eco-urbanists?”
L.B. We actually came up with the term in 2004. We were searching for a way to identify ourselves and our passion for both sustainability and urban living and finally landed on eco-urbanists.  An eco urbanist is someone who cares and decided its time to make a difference. Its someone who wants to lower their footprint on the earth but does not necessarily want to drive a vegetable oil powered Volvo.  They are people who realized that living out in the country consumes more energy and that cities are worth making better.

T.V. How did LJ Urban come to be?
L.B.Back when it all started in 2003 we were called Asante Homes. A development company who did land entitlement work out in the suburbs. But one day we woke up and saw that we did not like the end product. We were not proud of what we were creating and decided to come to the urban core. In doing so we needed to remake ourselves into a builder/developer. We wanted everything we built to be as sustainable environmentally as possible and found that we had to do everything ourselves to do it all right. LJ Urban was born and we are still striving today to do things the same way.

T.V. Who are its founding members?
L.B.  The LJ in LJ Urban stands for Levi and Jessie, my wife. Jessie initially worked on the company a lot more but we now have three kids and she does all the hard work. I get to go into work and play all day. Today LJ Urban is run by me and my business partner Micah Baginski.

T.V. Tell me about the homes that you build.
L.B. We start with one concept and design from there. Small. Everything we do is trying to lower the footprint of the home both on the land it uses and the energy it consumes.  Small well designed homes live better than any large home. When you care to design spaces for the people that live in them and the way they live today you can do amazing things. Our units on the “Good” project are called the Extra Small, Small, and Medium. The smallest of which is 1100 Square feet. My wife and I live in the Small which is a 1600 Square foot home and it feels like much more space than the 2500 Sq foot home in East Sac that we moved from. Our three kids love living here.

T.V.  Where are you located and where are a majority of your homes built?
L.B. Our office is in Downtown Sacramento and all of our homes are within 2 miles of the capitol building.  But our primary neighborhood is Washington in West Sacramento. We are just over the river from Downtown.

T.V.  What green practices are utilized in the building of your homes?
L.B.  Gosh way to many to list.  You might have to go download the PDF for that one…

T.V.  How are your homes “green?”
L.B.  There are way to many green features to list but most important green thing you can do is live close to work in a small house.  If you do those two things you are golden. Forget any tract home builder that wants to sell you a “green” home.  Its just not possible.

T.V. Why do you think it’s important for people to “live small?”
L.B. More stuff and space clutters every area of your life.  Small makes things simpler and then you can focus on the real things in life like friends and long walks as the sun goes down.

T.V. Many people want to live a greener lifestyle or have a green home, but they can’t afford the upfront costs or they feel as if it’s generally too expensive. What is your advice for people who feel this way?
L.B.  Sell your second car. Get on a bike and ride!

T.V. What is your background and how did you develop an interest in green issues?
L.B. I actually grew up in a missionary family. We moved around to several different countries while I was growing up and I was able to see first hand that our way of life in America costs other countries. I recently heard that if everyone in the world lived the way we do as Americans we would need 8 earths worth of resources to sustain us. I don’t know about you but that makes me sick. Eventually its going to catch up with us and the rest of the world is going to stop feeding our habits. But why do we need to wait around for that to happen? We can start today and make a difference in the world. In the real estate world the old model is dead and people are just now waking up to look for a new way. We have been at it for a while and the lead is starting to show. Our “Good” project was recently the top selling project in the Sacramento Central city and we are just getting started!

T.V. In terms of people’s homes, what are the top three things you would recommend in order for them to reduce their carbon footprint?
L.B. Lower your thermostat a few degrees. Compost in your yard or if you don’t have a yard buy a kitchen composter. Try and not use your car as much as possible.

T.V. Green stuff aside, tell me about the design of your homes. Are they modern?
L.B. Modern is just the start!  We used the black walnut tree we had to cut down as the window sill material. The kitchen cabinets up top are shelves instead of cabinets which not only cut town on material use but are minimalist and clean looking.  We hired local interior designers blankblank, they looked at everything from the baseboards (there aren’t any) to the flooring (cork and recycled carpet) and came up with the best easy to clean materials they could find.  The end result is an incredible design that not only looks incredible but lives well. I would know I live in one!

T.V. On average, how much are your homes?
L.B. They start at 290k and go up from there. We just released a phase of 10 homes and half were sold in the first 10 days. I keep getting calls from banks and people in the industry wondering how we are selling so well. We are finally getting to prove that the time has come for sustainability. Despite the worst of economic times its just proof that the future is very green!

T.V. Why do you think it is that despite the fact that urban living is capable of being more sustainable, many in urban settings have yet to embrace green practices?
L.B. You got me there……Still wondering myself.

T.V. The business aside, personally, why are you doing this? Why is it so important for you to provide people with green homes?
L.B. Simple. My kids. What are we leaving for the next generation? Is it something we would be proud of? I don’t want to be a part of the generation that knew there was a better way and chose not to do anything about it.

T.V. What is your great hope for LJ Urban; where do you see the company in the future?
L.B. We started a new venture recently we are calling LJ Urban Renewable. Its a green energy company that is working on several large scale solar farms in Northern California. Our goal is to have enough renewable energy online in the next two years to power 25,000 homes. We are excited about what the future will bring, its a whole new world out there and despite what people will tell you, laced in all this mess of an economy is more opportunity than any of us have seen in our lifetime. The question we keep asking ourselves is if we are doing all we can to positions ourselves to come out the other side on top.

Levi Benkert