Casa de Robles - 7820 Monterra Oaks - Building “Green” in Monterey, California
Currently under construction, Casa de Robles will be the first home in Monterey’s newest residential community, Monterra Ranch, designed to meet LEED Platinum standards for green building, energy efficiency and resource conservation.
After several years of planning and county approvals, television news professional, Karina Rusk and her designer-builder husband, Dennis Palma are hoping to escalate the local grassroots Green Building movement. “This home will test the limits of high energy efficiency and resource conservation standards by using highly insulated wall systems, controlled radiant heating, passive whole house ventilation, solar power generation, rain catchment systems for site irrigation, concrete and steel roof and wall systems, and energy efficient appliances” stated owner/builder Dennis Palma. Projects of this nature take hundreds of hours of planning to be cost effective, but in the end the rewards will produce optimum results.
With more than 12,000 square feet, this luxury villa, expected to be completed by mid-2009, will feature comfortable spaces, 6+ bedroom, plus room for live-in help and a guest house. "We anticipate that our energy bills will be one third of those homes of similar size and domestic water consumption will be cut in half, outside noise influences will be non‐existent and seismic mitigations will be far greater than those of conventional wood structure," added Palma.
With all these capabilities, it might be tempting to think that the design would be over-the-top “futuristic” in looks, but surprisingly, the home is “Monterey Contemporary” in design and very warm and livable within its walls. "We believe we have chosen some of the best design elements that are found in the area’s finest homes and incorporated them into this classic home project," said Palma.
Always thinking ahead and planning, Dennis described the home construction as fun but challenging, and Karina described the project as a technical work of art, a labor of love and an elegant canvas to work with.
"Monterra is a wonderful site for this home or any future homes to be built with “Green” in mind. Anyone with aspirations of building green should incorporate many of these concepts into their project and expect to feel good about changing the way we think about how we live in homes and how our homes perform in respect to environmental issues," added Rusk.
Offered at $7,500,000, this luxury custom "green" home is listed for sale with local real estate office, DMB Realty Estate Properties.
For additional information, please contact the listing agent, Mike Jashinski at 831‐236‐8913. Leading the original sales team for the 
exclusive gated communities of Monterra and Tehama since their launch in 2004, Mike knows every curve of the land and nuance to the lifestyle offered within these unique neighborhoods. Let him take you beyond the gates for a private tour of this special property. Mike Jashinski was also ranked as the #2 Realtor in gross sales volume on the Monterey Peninsula for 2007.
DMB Realty Estate Properties is part of the DMB Realty family of companies. Since 2003, their team of professionals has served as the on-site experts for Tehama and Monterra, closing over $235 million in sales within these exclusive communities. In 2007 DMB Realty Estate Properties expanded to provide their in-depth knowledge of the local real estate market and boutique-style personal attention to luxury home buyers and sellers throughout greater Monterey, Carmel and Carmel Valley.
