(Radio Iowa) – New tenants will start moving into Iowa’s first-ever “zero carbon certified” building in a few weeks. Star Lofts in Des Moines will have 20 affordable housing apartments and four spaces for businesses. To earn the title zero-carbon, new buildings must meet benchmarks for cutting carbon emissions both during the construction phase and when it’s in use. Developers must offset remaining emissions through renewable energy projects to reach net zero. Project developer Molly Cutle says a lot of trial and error was involved initially and she’s sharing the knowledge with others.

“There haven’t been a lot of projects yet who have achieved this certification to look from, but we’re very open book with how we achieved it, and have shared those learnings,” Cutler says, “and hope that other developers go after the same certification in the future.” Cutler says they met the criteria by swapping conventional materials for special ones like engineered wooden beams and low-carbon concrete. Solar panels offsite also offset the remaining carbon impacts. Cutler says they intentionally chose this certification because of its high standards.

“They actually do not allow you to simply purchase carbon credits of solar that already exist,” she says. “You have to be part of the production of new on- or off-site renewables.” Culter says Anawim Housing will help manage the apartments when tenants start moving in in December. The units are available to people in different income levels who make at least 80% or less of the area median income.