One of the highlights scheduled for the “Residential Summit” at the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, underway in Toronto, was the presentation of the U.S. Green Building Council’s 2011 LEED for Homes Awards.

USGBC says these awards are intended to recognize innovation and commitment to LEED for Homes practices in several residential categories, including multifamily, single-family, production building, and affordable housing. The big winner this year is GO Logic, a building company based in Belfast, Maine, that took home the 2011 Project of the Year award for its GO Home, a 1,500-sq.-ft. three-bedroom that qualified for LEED Platinum certification and Passivhaus certification – all for construction costs of about $160 per sq. ft.

GO Home is serving as a model for the Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage, a 36-unit project that will feature homes ranging in size from 440 sq. ft. to 1,300 sq. ft.

USGBC’s Outstanding Single Family Project award went to Josh Wynne Construction for Power Haus, a luxury home in Sarasota, Florida, that earned a minus-22 Home Energy Rating System score, billed as the lowest on record. (The home would have earned a HERS score of 42, the builder noted, without its 14.2 kW photovoltaic system.)

Recognizing multifamily, production, and affordable projects

Production builder KB Home’s 52-unit Primera Terra development, in Playa Vista, California, won in the Multifamily award – and a LEED Platinum rating – for the project’s use of an urban infill location, its used of reclaimed materials, construction waste control, and water efficiency. KB Home also notes that Primera Terra homes are 40% more energy efficient than is required by California’s Title 24 building code.

Another production builder, ActiveWest Builders, took an award for a LEED for Neighborhood Development project, Meadow Ranch, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Three other awards recognized projects focused on affordable housing.

The Outstanding Affordable Housing Project award went to Juneberry Lane, a LEED Platinum infill subdivision of 12 homes in Oregon City, Oregon, developed by the Clackamas Community Land Trust. Homes in the project, which also is certified as an Earth Advantage Community, are priced from $115,000 (for a two-bedroom single-story) to $135,000 (for a four-bedroom two-story).

New Hope Housing, a developer based in Houston, Texas, that builds affordable single-room-occupancy housing, earned USGBC recognition for its commitment to pursuing LEED certification for all of its projects. New Hope’s 2424 Sakowitz community, which includes 166 SRO units, earned LEED Platinum certification.

USGBC’s Outstanding Program Commitment award went to Habitat for Humanity of Kent County, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the chapter’s commitment to LEED certification of all its new and gut-rehab projects, which so far number 70. Another 90 such projects are planned and registered as prospective LEED-certification candidates.