‘Green’ project positive on health

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WORTHINGTON — The National Center for Healthy Housing and Enterprise Community Partners have released the results of a nearly three-year study on the health of Viking Terrace residents following a 2006 rehabilitation of the Worthington rental housing complex.

The study looked at how the use of “green resources” in rehabilitating the 60-unit complex impacted the health and wellness of Viking Terrace residents.

The Green and Healthy Affordable Homes project was one of the first in the nation to demonstrate how low-income housing projects can benefit from green technology such as the use of low-volatile organic compound building materials, added ventilation and incorporation of moisture management practices.

“We wanted to reduce the negative toxins, ensure fresh air flow and exchange and get the toxic air moved out of the housing (units), and also ensure that healthy building materials were used,” Yianice Hernandez, senior program director of green communities with Enterprise Community Partners.

Surveys were conducted with willing residents of Viking Terrace prior to the renovation and then six months to a year after the work was completed. Approximately 60 percent of the renters took part in the study. The results were compiled in a 42-page report, which can be viewed online at www.practitionerresources.org/cache/documents/673/67397.pdf.

What the study showed was a significant improvement in the general health of adults, from reduced instances of chronic bronchitis and hay fever, to sinusitis and asthma. In children, improvements were noted in general health, respiratory allergies, ear infections, comfort and safety.

“There were significant findings related to respiratory health,” said Hernandez. “Certain seasonal or respiratory illnesses were also reduced after residents moved into their (rehabbed) apartments.”

Mental health of residents seemed to improve as well, she said, with people taking greater pride in their apartment and the complex in general.

“What was a great finding to us was that residents felt safer as a result of the renovation,” Hernandez said. “As a result of that safety, they increased their activity — kids were playing outdoors more. It increased activity of children by 50 percent.”

The results of the study have been a benefit to Enterprise as it continues to work on other green projects in low-income housing projects across the country, Hernandez said.

“It’s really a model for beginning to evaluate what can be done in terms of monitoring health benefits of residents in a remodeled green project,” she said. “This is something that Enterprise, as an organization, really stands behind — the importance of green, affordable housing. Viking Terrace is only the beginning.”

Viking Terrace was purchased in 2005 by Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership. The agency secured approximately $2.8 million in low-income housing tax credits for the project through Minnesota Green Communities. The total project cost was nearly $4.7 million.

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