The owners of the Marmaduke Forster house used historic tax credits to finance its green rehabilitation.(Charles H. Henkels, Architects)

Location: Pleasantville, N.Y.
Built: 1785 to 1890s
Renovated: 2004
Architect: Charles H. Henkels, Architects
LEED Rating: Certified (anticipated)

BY STEPHANIE JOY SMITH

The Marmaduke Forster house has undergone its fair share of makeovers in its 222 year history, morphing from a modest Greek revival farm house into a 4,400-square-foot Queen Anne landmark on the edge of downtown Pleasantville, N.Y. Its latest transformation has put it in the running to become the oldest LEED-certified building in the United States.

The two-story house, converted into offices in the 1970s, was facing demolition with 29 code violations before John Krysko and Nancy Rosanoff purchased it in 2002, vowing to rehab the property and place it on the National Register of Historic Places.

Architect Charles Henkel says that keeping and restoring the historic fabric of the house automatically made the project greener. For example, instead of replacing the original wood shingles, workers removed lead-based paint and restored them, not only maintaining the historic character of the house, but also keeping extra material from the landfill. Original hardwood floors and plaster were also restored, as well as the old Queen Anne windows with their jewel colored panes, usually considered a no-go for achieving LEED ratings. But Henkel points out that the LEED system allows for such flexibility.

"You don't have to do everything," he says. You can retain the windows, Henkel says, and find other ways to make the house more efficient. For the project, fireproof cellulose insulation was blown into the walls, and multiple HVAC systems were used to reduce the intrusiveness of the ductwork, and to give more control, and more responsibility, to the building's individual occupants.

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