Goodhousekeeping’s The Daily Green writes that, “Urban plantings help purify the air of toxins, produce oxygen, decrease harmful stormwater runoff, reduce the “heat island effect” and provide some food and habitat for wildlife. We can also grow some of our own fresh produce, keep bees, and increase property values.”

Who wouldn’t want that? Just in time for Spring, our EYA Experts have compiled some tips for utilizing your beautiful rooftop terrace as your own personal urban garden!

Start with the foundation – the flower pots!

Consider the weight of your pots. No one wants to lug a heavy, bulky container up a few flights, right? Keep it light weight, for your sake and for the roof’s sake. Terra-cotta and cement pots can be heavy, especially with wet soil inside. This can put extra pressure on your rooftop terrace. An easy solution is to use a lightweight variety, such as fiberglass, aluminum or even wood. Plastic styles may be cheaper and lighter, but they will deteriorate over time in the UV sunlight.

• Fiberglass pots are a great choice if you like the look of carved pottery and modern streamlined designs, but choose the color wisely; light-colored planters can lessen heat absorption during the hotter months, which will keep the soil moist and help the plant’s roots grow evenly.
• Aluminum or metal designs are contemporary and won’t crack during the winter months, but be warned, these pots get very hot in direct sunlight, and plants may need to be watered more frequently.
• Hardwood styles are designed to last, but they are also very susceptible to rot, so choose a relatively rot resistant Redwood or Cedar, and keep the wood elevated off the ground to avoid speeding up the rotting process.

Lightweight fiberglass, like these grey fiber-stone planters, are attractive, trendy and will fit your space perfectly!

Get creative when choosing the style and size. Choose containers or pots that flatter the design of your rooftop terrace. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. When choosing the size, consider using a pot or container that is larger, versus a smaller one. Large pots retain more moisture than small pots, thus reducing the watering from twice daily to once daily. It seems like common sense, but make sure your pots have drainage holes – if someone is not able to water the plants every day, use pots or containers with a drip tray to ensure drainage holes soak up water as needed. HGTV suggests placing rocks on the bottom of your containers or pots to ensure proper drainage. Or, if weight is an issue, use Styrofoam packing peanuts. Genius!

Now that you have the pots, shop for your garden!

Start with potting soil. Shop for varieties of “soil-less” potting mixes, not garden soil. (Yes, there is a difference!) Soil-less potting mixtures are less dense and don’t compact as much as your average top soil or garden soil, so it makes it easier to work with in planters. Also, even when wet, it is much lighter than wet garden soil, again, reducing the pressure on your roof. You can buy these pre-mixed varieties from local garden centers, such as Ginko Gardens in Southeast DC, Eclectic Nature in Alexandria, VA and Merrifield Garden Center in Merrifield, VA.

Combine shrubs, dwarf tree varieties, climbing plants and flowers to add depth and texture to your garden! Impatiens are a go-to for city gardeners. They can withstand heat, wind, sun and poor soil and air quality.

Consider the weather conditions. Wind and drought tolerant plants are important for a rooftop garden. Tough, shrubby grasses are very heat and sunlight tolerant, and can be used to give year round interest and shelter less-hardy plants from the wind. Also, select small-leaved plant varieties, as larger leaves shred easily in the wind. Examples of hardy plants for your rooftop are some Evergreen shrubs (e.g. Junipers or dwarf Spruces), Phormium, and Blue Fescue.

Play up contrasting textures. Make your garden flow by mixing varieties of ornamental grasses, evergreens, and colorful annuals. When thinking about color, Thomas Lewis of Floral Studio – NY suggests keeping your colors cohesive. Lewis states “limiting your palette makes your space appear larger.” Also, stray away from too many ideas. To keep a more organized feel to your terrace, New York City rooftop garden designer Amber Freda says to “Pick two or three planter styles and two or three colors and repeat them throughout the space. Any more than this and you could end up with a rooftop garden that doesn’t look very organized.” You can use one of our favorite resources, Gardening Knowhow, to read up on the best full-sun plants for Spring.

Designer, Amber Freda, used a mixture of pink crepe myrtle trees, dwarf blue spruces, ornamental grasses, and sedum and knockout roses in beautiful cedar wood planters to create cohesion.

For even more tips on planning your rooftop terrace design, check out our previous blog entry here.

Planning your vision is the hardest part, and once you’ve done that, just purchase, pot, and watch your garden grow! Happy rooftop gardening!

EYA wants YOU to share your rooftop terrace gardens with us, tweet us your pics @EYAHomes or post them on our Facebook wall!

The Repax mission is simple, “to make your move as easy and affordable as possible while minimizing your environmental impact.”

Repax is an innovative packing system that utilizes reusable interlocking plastic crates, rather than cardboard boxes. The crates are cleaner, sturdier, and larger than the average cardboard box. And the best part about the Repax service? They deliver the crates and dollies to your door, and when you’re done with the move, they come pick them up!

Just call. Pack. Give Back.

Visit www.repax.com to view their newest commercial, price your move, compare Repax to a traditional move, read customer reviews, and order your delivery online! Enter the special EYA promotion code, EYA1_2012, to receive 10% off your next move.

P.S. You can now bundle Repax and Zipvan! Combine your EYA Homeowner Discounts for a more affordable, easier move in the city. Move Smart!

Many EYA neighborhoods are within walking distance of Zipcar locations.

We love the concept of car sharing. You maintain the convenience of access to a car, but don’t have the burden of car payments, insurance, gas and registration. With Zipcar, gas and insurance are included, and you can pay either by the hour, or by the day.

Now, you can pick up a Zipcar near our walkable new home neighborhoods and save $30 off the first year’s annual fee, plus receive $30 in free driving credits!

Simply visit http://www.Zipcar.com/EYA to register. Beep beep!

Interested students are encouraged to submit an application as soon as possible. To qualify, a student must:

• Be a senior at a DC Public or Public Charter High School
• Reside in Ward 5
• Have accepted admission to either a 2-year or 4-year college (by the June 3, 2013 application deadline)
• Have a GPA that ranks in the top 30% of their class

While homebuilding is the primary thing we do, building sustainable neighborhoods is what we love.  And that means more than welcoming new homeowners – it means giving back in the communities where we build. This scholarship will make a direct and positive impact on two young people and their families living in Ward 5, the site of EYA’s Chancellor’s Row townhouse neighborhood now selling in Northeast DC.

This condominium unit was designed by Danziger Design for a couple downsizing in Mongtomery County.

Lots of EYA homeowners share this story and a significant number of our homebuyers are, in fact, empty nesters. So we’ve teamed with the folks at Danziger Design to create these top 5 tips for downsizing:

1. Consider whether you want to live in an amenity-rich building/community where a monthly fee might cover fitness, pool, etc., or whether you’d like to be in a more urban setting where you can workout at the nearby gym, swim at the City pool, etc. EYA’s Oronoco Condo offers both.
2. Speak with your financial advisor about certain tax implications of living in certain states, as inheritance, income, property and sales taxes vary by area. You might well choose a place you hadn’t considered in order to preserve wealth.
3. You may be thinking of new or smaller scale furniture and how it may or may not integrate with the favorite pieces you already have. An experienced designer, like our friends at Bethesda’s Danziger Design, can help you inventory your household furnishings and create a plan that will allow you to bring along any functional or memorable pieces. They’ll ensure your new space is airy, fresh and exactly what you envision. They can also assist with color and finish selections if your next home is new construction.
4. Not sure how to get started going through your belongings?  One of the best ways to identify what goes with you, what gets donated, what gets passed on to another family member is to assign a color to each category and to place a sticker on each item as you go through your home – another great tip from Danziger Design.
5. And the fifth tip? Now is a really great time to downsize! There is very little inventory in the market – and most single family homes are snapped up in less than a month. EYA has a variety of townhome and condominium properties throughout the Washington Metropolitan area that offer a walkable lifestyle, public transit, low maintenance new construction and outdoor spaces that require you to do no more landscaping. Now that’s refreshing!

The Townhomes at Little Falls Place offer up to 1,325 s.f. of outdoor living space, including this expansive rooftop terrace.

EYA selected third-party research firm, Robert Charles Lesser & Company (RCLCO), to conduct a survey of homeowners among its recently built communities in Washington, DC and Alexandria, VA. Owners were asked to report their actual energy & water usage, commuting and lifestyle habits. RCLCO also collected comparison energy & water usage data for older homes and newer homes built by other homebuilders.

The findings are:

1. 60% of EYA homeowners have an “alternative” commute, as compared to only 32% of Washingtonians[1].
2. 73% of EYA homeowners have a commute less than 30 minutes, which is 10% shorter than the DC-average[2].
3. The average EYA homeowner walks 32 minutes per day, compared to the national average of only 13 minutes[3].
4. 71% of EYA homeowners walk to Metro at least once a week, compared to only 15% of Washington-area residents[4].
5. The average EYA household has only 1.43 cars, compared to a regional & national average of 1.9 cars per household[5].
6. The average EYA household drives only 21 miles per day, as compared to a regional average of 26.3 miles per person[6].
7. By moving into an EYA community, owners report driving 25 miles less per week, which saves them $734.50 per year[7].
8. EYA homeowners report saving $258 per year on utility bills (or 9%) versus older homes or other new construction.
9. 88% of EYA homeowners report that moving into an EYA neighborhood positively impacted their lives by bringing amenities within walking distance.
10. In a typical EYA new home development, the company recycles 85% of construction debris, diverting over 2,000 tons of waste from landfills[8].

The study is timely for EYA, as it recently celebrated its 20^th anniversary, 4,000^th settlement and completed its 500^th LEED certification. The results are a testament to the merits of the green building techniques the company has implemented in pursuing LEED certification, along with the lifestyle benefits of living in a walkable neighborhood.

Living in a Statistically Smarter Neighborhood, an EYA Infographic

ABOUT EYA

EYA is a smart growth developer, specializing in walkable new home communities and mixed-use developments.  Since its founding in 1992, the company has built over 30 neighborhoods in the Washington Metropolitan area. Learn more at http://www.EYA.com.

ABOUT RCLCO

Robert Charles Lesser & Company (RCLCO) is the largest independent real estate advisory firm in the nation. The company provides strategic and tactical advice regarding property investment, planning, and development. RCLCO has offices in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, CA, Austin, TX and Orlando, FL. Learn more at http://www.RCLCO.com.

With just 61 available homesites, demand is higher than even we could have expected. Prospective buyers were told that sales would begin Sunday morning at 11 AM, on a first-come, first-serve basis. We arrived to find 10 eager buyers camping in line to be among the first purchasers of the new EYA homes.

Prospective buyers line up to be among the first purchasers at EYA's Arts District Hyattsville new townhome community.

It wasn’t long ago that this was the norm for new construction. In fact, we have seen lines at the grand opening of many of our neighborhoods. But ten buyers in line well exceeded our expectations.

“It’s no wonder,” said Preston Innerst, Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “There is very little new construction available in urban locations such as Arts District Hyattsville. The contemporary architecture, energy efficient construction, and onsite amenities make it a very desirable place to live at a very desirable price point.”

Add to that historically low interest rates and pent up demand that emerged during the housing downturn and “camping out for homes” may just well be the new norm. EYA will build the final 61 townhomes at Arts District Hyattsville, with the first move-ins planned for this October. The neighborhood’s amenities and retail shops are completed and open.

About Arts District Hyattsville
Arts District Hyattsville is a 25-acre mixed-use neighborhood, just two miles from the District. Washington’s most acclaimed eateries and shops are alongside new townhomes, luxury apartment homes, community center with fitness room, outdoor pool and onsite Metro shuttle.  Now selling from the mid $300s. Open daily from 11 AM – 6 PM at 4541 Longfellow Street in Hyattsville, Maryland.

*Shuttle service is provided by the Seller on a trial basis. The Seller makes no representations or guarantees with respect to how long service may continue. The homeowners association may later incur additional costs for the Shuttle, should the community choose to maintain the Shuttle in the future.

EYA Townhomes at Arts District Hyattsville: Refreshingly Different

Tomorrow, we’ll celebrate the grand opening of our sales center, where EYA will be selling a chic, contemporary townhome design. Brick facades are complemented with painted accent panels and iron roof terrace railings to bring a fresh look to the community.

Available features such as linear, modern fireplaces provide a refreshingly different design aesthetic for EYA's homebuyers at Arts District Hyattsville.

Inside, available features like modern fireplaces, European-inspired cabinetry, and advanced Home Automation provide a complete design package fit for today’s homebuyer.

Arts District Hyattsville is the area’s most exciting urban neighborhood, with rush-hour Metro shuttle, onsite shopping and dining, Busboys and Poets, pool, fitness center and more. Priced from the mid $300s.

Stop by our sales center, tomorrow, April 13th to learn more! Open daily 11 AM – 6 PM at 4541 Longfellow Street in Hyattsville.

*Shuttle service is provided by the Seller on a trial basis. The Seller makes no representations or guarantees with respect to how long service may continue. The homeowners association may later incur additional costs for the Shuttle, should the community choose to maintain the Shuttle in the future.

The Best Of poll is the paper’s most anticipated issue, in which Washington’s most adored shops, restaurants, businesses and destinations are put to the ultimate test: an online poll where readers pick their favorites.

This year, EYA was selected for recognition as:

• Best Residential Builder
• Best Real Estate Developer
• Best Design Residential Community: Chancellor’s Row

Thanks to all of our friends, followers and homeowners who made this special recognition possible! It’s serendipitous that we’d be given this honor just shortly after we celebrated our 20th Anniversary.

We hope to continue to build the area’s most admired urban neighborhoods for the next 20 years, too!

• 4 U Body and Beauty Palace
• Big Bear Café
• Clean Green & Professional
• Dance Place
• Excel Movement Studios
• Strong Mind, Strong Body

During this Small Business Mixer, owners of nearby shops and restaurants mingled at San Antonio Bar & Grill, while everyone had the opportunity to meet the grant recipients and learn more about their efforts.

Members of The Community Foundation gathered with EYA to award grant funds as part of the Chancellor's Row Small Business Loan Fund. Photo courtesy of BrooklandBridge.com.

From EYA, we’d like to extend a big congratulations to the recipients and thank everyone for coming out! You can read more about the event here.