Knox Housing Partnership’s Ken Block, who oversees Asset Management & Property Development, Tuesday was awarded the Green Light Award for leadership in the industry by the East Tennessee Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

“We are thrilled the East Tennessee Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council recognized Ken’s leadership and innovation in green construction and residential development,” said Jackie Mayo, Executive Director of Knox Housing Partnership. “Ken has been a proponent of LEED initiatives and been on the cutting edge in the high-performance housing field.”

Additionally, KHP was awarded the Green Light Award for Lonsdale LEED v (version) 4 Infill Houses.

“I am genuinely pleased with KHP’s commitment to quality, affordable housing, which includes efforts such as EPA EnergyStar certification and LEED v4 Homes,” Block said.

LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. To receive LEED certification, building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. Prerequisites and credits differ for each rating system, and teams choose the best fit for their project.

Infill homes refers to the construction of new homes on existing lots within a neighborhood. Knox Housing Partnership currently has four new construction homes for sale in the Lonsdale neighborhood. The Lonsdale homes are a joint effort with the City of Knoxville, Commercial Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, to build seven homes in the neighborhood, which are to be sold to low- and moderate-income families at affordable rates.

Block has been instrumental in helping Knox Housing Partnership build the first new construction LEED for Homes in Tennessee as well as building the first LEED v4 Homes in the southeastern region. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED v4 is “the future of green building.”