On the Market: First LEED Platinum rehab in Pa. for $1.295M

On the Market profiles homes for sale in the Philadelphia region.

When Shannon Slusher bought a row home in Fairmount in 2006, he had plans to rehab it with sustainability in mind, but not to the extent he followed through with.

"I really wanted it to be an aesthetically relevant place that was comfortable to me, [and] that happened to be green," he said.

The end result? The home became the first LEED Platinum rehab in the state of Pennsylvania. The green building ratings system was just beginning at the time Slusher was working on the renovation.

Slusher, CEO of the branding agency 160over90, hired Canno Architecture and Design and Walnut Tree Construction to transform the 100-year-old structure on 27th Street between Brown and Parrish.

The process took three years, he said.

"It's a pretty rigorous exercise meeting all the sustainability criteria, [with] the design, the build, the placement," Slusher said.

Slusher, who had previously rehabbed homes before but never for sustainability, said two things inspired him to take on this project: his time in Europe, where he saw many sustainable homes, and spending his summers at his father's farm in Ohio.

Green features and high-tech upgrades surround the 2,000-square-foot modern residence.

One of the major sustainable features is the water reclamation system.

"All of the water from the two roofs goes through a filtering system and goes into a cistern," he said. "That water gets filtered out to the plantings, gardens, and fruit trees."

Other green features include two vegetative green roofs with more than 700-square-feet of gardening space, solar panels that provide nearly half of the home's energy, and automatic solar blinds.

"On the roofs we have tomato plants, a grape vineyard, and raspberries," Slusher said. "We could live off the harvest all spring and summer."

As for the design, features include reclaimed 120-year-old white oak wood from an Ohio barn for the floors, sand-blasted absolute black granite countertops in the kitchen, and reclaimed walnut vanity tops in the hall bath.

The master bath has a steam room, concrete sink, limestone walls and river rock floors.

The home also features Smarthome technology, which allows the homeowner to control the lighting, HVAC, and solar blinds for both efficiency and convenience.

Outside on the ground floor, the green features continue. There's a garden with concrete walls, steel planters, and a 6,000-gallon Koi pond and waterfall with a bio filter system.

The home has a total of two bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths.

Since Slusher completed the residence, he got married and had a baby with his wife, Naomi.

With a growing family, Slusher and his wife are looking to move to a larger property. He put his home on the market for $1.295 million.

"It's a beautiful space," he said.

Click to view listing >