Homes at Trilogy® Orlando and Shea Homes at Victoria Gardens Retirement Communities Meet Energy Star® Qualification

Online, June 23, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities is announcing today that Energy Star qualified homes are available at both Shea Homes at Victoria Gardens in DeLand and Trilogy Orlando in Groveland. With the trusted, government-backed symbol for energy efficiency from Energy Star, homeowners at both properties can embrace new, updated green features that can save thousands on energy costs and improve home comfort.

Every home at Shea Homes at Victoria Gardens and Trilogy Orlando is available in three energy saving packages-Complete, Plus and Ultra-designed to give the buyer flexibility when selecting Shea Green Certified™ features. Each outperforms industry standards and includes certification through Environments For Living®. The Plus level is Shea's mid level energy savings package that includes more than 20 green features for both comfort and energy efficiency. Homes with the Plus and Ultra package meet Energy Star requirements. Energy Star homes must be at least 15 percent more energy efficient than other new homes.

"When I first saw my energy bill I was shocked. I thought there was a mistake. In our other home, during the summer we had some bills over $300. Now that we are in our energy efficient home at Victoria Gardens, they're between $70 and $75 in the summer. We are very happy with the change," said Millie Logan, a Victoria Gardens homeowner, whose home includes the Plus package.

Millie and her husband, Burt, had lived at their previous residence for 30 years before deciding to move to Victoria Gardens.

"We looked at some other homes, but they were built prior to this one. We backed away from them primarily because of the their lack of efficiency. We looked for the latest updated features and it was a good choice. Going with a home that's not energy efficient would have been a big mistake," she continued.

At Shea Homes at Victoria Gardens and Trilogy Orlando each and every home in the Plus and Ultra levels is inspected by an independent agency during and after construction to verify that it meets the EPA's strict Energy Star guidelines. Energy efficient features included as standard in every Plus, or higher, home at Victoria Gardens and Trilogy Orlando include:

• Trane® energy efficient air conditioning systems with gas forced air heating
• Fixtures and Jenn-Air® appliances that include the Energy Star Seal
• Tightly sealed insulation and ducts for minimum air leakage
• High efficiency gas water heaters
• Radiant barrier sheathing to help keep the home at a constant temperature

All homes at Shea Homes at Victoria Gardens and Trilogy Orlando are also 100 percent Shea Green Certified™, the builder's proprietary process that incorporates green features as standard in every home to help residents save up to 40 percent over those built a few years ago. Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities has built more than 2,100 Shea Green Certified Homes, since 2007. Shea Homes backs its energy efficiency promise on its homes with a heating and cooling energy usage guarantee, as well as a comfort guarantee from Environments for Living.

"We are excited, at Shea Homes at Victoria Gardens and Trilogy Orlando, to now announce our homes meet Energy Star requirements to help boomers maximize home energy efficiency. At Victoria Gardens and Trilogy Orlando we have always sought to address Energy Star with our Plus package, and we are happy to now officially say these homes meet the requirements. This designation, along with Environments for Living certification, and our own 100 percent Shea Green Certified, not only speaks to the quality of our construction, but also shows that Shea is committed to help homeowners save money and obtain a lower cost of home ownership in retirement," said Jeff Gersh, area vice president for Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities.

Shea Homes at Victoria Gardens is located directly off I-4 between Orlando and Daytona, in DeLand, and is within close proximity to Disney World, Cape Canaveral, beaches and the City of Orlando.

Within Shea Homes at Victoria Gardens 55+, active adult, retirement community is a luxurious private club, complete with a state-of-the-art health and fitness center, pool and spa, billiards room, tennis courts, ballroom for functions, computer lab and business resource center, full-service cafe and cards room.

Trilogy Orlando opened up in Groveland, near Clermont, in late in 2010 and has already seen excellent sales. Trilogy Orlando is 55+ retirement community designed to offer residents an active lifestyle that revolves around exploration, freedom, wellness, and connection. Winding wide, well-lit sidewalks guide homeowners and guests through the community. Its diverse events and venues, currently under construction, include a large state-of-the-art athletic club; spin, yoga and aerobics studio; women's only fitness area; arts and crafts studio; indoor/outdoor pool and spa; community lounge; championship tennis, pickle ball, and bocce courts; demonstration kitchen; multipurpose event room; cafe, and plenty of open spaces.

Though home sales may be down across the country by 15 percent year over year, Shea Home Active Lifestyle sales are up 28 percent. Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities have been ranked number one in the country in customer service three years in a row.

For more information please visit: http://www.trilogylife.com/communities/florida

About Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities
Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities is a group within Shea Homes dedicated to developing resort communities serving the baby boom generation. Baby boomers helped change their world, and we knew they'd demand a new breed of community, as they become empty nesters and retirees. Our Active Lifestyle Communities offer the legendary Shea Homes quality you'd expect, along with an outstanding lifestyle geared around exploration, freedom, wellness and connection. With 11 locations around the country in Florida, Arizona, Nevada, California and Washington, people looking to live in a master planned community that comes with 4-star resort amenities will have plenty of options to choose from. There are thousands of reasons people love living in Shea Homes Active Lifestyle and Trilogy communities, from the stunning Clubs and enriching amenities, to the Shea Green Certified™ homes, to the vibrant people who live in each one of our locations. We invite you to explore all there is to life in an Active Lifestyle Community and see why we're different inside and out. More information is available online at www.TrilogyLife.com or by calling (800) 685-6494.

Energy Star and the Energy Star name are registered trademarks of their respective owners.

###