Whisper Valley Featured on Ask This Old House
(Austin, TX) — Austin’s Whisper Valley, the $2 billion sustainable community being developed by Taurus Investment Holdings, is getting more national recognition. The community was featured in an episode of Ask This Old House. The episode, which began airing nationally on May 31, aired in the Austin area Sunday, June 3 at 5 p.m. on KLRU Channel 18.2 and at 2 p.m. on Channel 389 on Direct TV.
Watch: Whisper Valley on Ask This Old House
The Future House segment, with host Ross Tretheway, looks at how the first phase of Whisper Valley is just the start of what will one day be a model of how to deploy sustainable living at a scale that’s accessible and affordable. Ross interviews Axel Lerche, CEO of EcoSmart Solution, a subsidiary of Taurus Investment Holdings.
“We were thrilled to have Ask This Old House visit and show them what a net zero community looks like,” Lerche said. “Our homes here produce as much energy as they consume by using solar panels and geothermal heat pumps. By using economies of scale, we were able to work with our builders and do this affordably as part of the infrastructure up front.”
Whisper Valley homes include solar panels to generate electricity, a Bosch geothermal heating and cooling system to save up to 65 percent on typical monthly energy consumption and the entire community is connected together by an innovative geothermal loop field to maximize efficiency and achieve zero-energy capable homes. The homes also meet the carbon-neutral standard promoted by the City of Austin for all new construction homes.
“EcoSmart communities are more environmentally friendly and provide comfortable homes that increase in value and save owners upwards of $100,000 over the life of the home,” said Lorenz Reibling, Taurus Chairman. “Whisper Valley is a model for the rest of the nation and internationally. A lot of time, planning and research has gone into making this a sustainable, zero-energy capable community.”
Amenities in Whisper Valley include 700 acres of green space, a fitness center, a resort style pool, and high-tech Google Fiber and NEST products. In addition, all homes are pre-wired for a garage-mounted electric-vehicle (EV) charging station. Each home qualifies for an average Federal Tax Credit of $7-10,000, which makes the investment for the home owner even more affordable.
Whisper Valley also features a custom organic farming and home food delivery program in partnership with Lettuce Network. Phase I of the program is already producing fruits and vegetables delivered to residents’ doorsteps.
Homes in Whisper Valley start from the $230s to $400s and feature local builders Pacesetter Homes and Avi Homes. The 2,062-acre mixed-use development consists of residential neighborhoods and planned retail, neighborhood services, restaurants and commercial. In the future there will be two school sites, a transportation hub and a fire station.
Located just east of SH-130 at FM 973 and Braker Lane within Austin’s Desired Development Zone, Whisper Valley is 20 minutes from downtown Austin, 10-20 minutes from Google, Dell and Samsung corporate campuses, and 10 minutes from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
Whisper Valley was named the 2018 Best New Community by the Homebuilder Association of Greater Austin (HBA) and was Green Home Builder’s 2017 Community of the Year.