Pitt's Green Building Project Begins

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. MAY 10, 2007. By Stacey Plaisance

 With a brass band accompaniment, developers in this city's devastated Lower 9th Ward celebrated the start of construction Thursday on an environmentally friendly new home, based on the winning design in a competition started by Brad Pitt.

Bundles of hay were used to outline the site of the first house, which will serve as a model home and visitor center while construction of other houses is under way. The first house is expected to be completed in August _ around the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

The home will be made with energy-saving materials such as metal roofing and recycled textiles.

"Hopefully this can be a model for the level of redevelopment that can be done here," said Matt Petersen, president and CEO of Global Green USA, the environmental group working with Pitt on the project.

Global Green plans to sell the homes and plans to give preference to former residents of the Lower 9th Ward's Holy Cross neighborhood, where the homes are being constructed.

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