Westport developer designs PureHouse on Coleytown Road

A Westport developer says he is trying to redefine luxury in southwestern Connecticut by building a home that he compares to a farmers market or a hybrid car.
The five-bedroom, six-bathroom home will be located on Coleytown Road in Westport.
Developer Doug McDonald calls it a PureHouse, a high-performance home that he says will use 90 percent less energy than most other homes built today - even at a spacious 5,700 square feet.
McDonald says the PureHouse movement started a few decades ago in Germany, and is slowly spreading to the U.S.
The idea is to build a tightly sealed home to keep pollution, allergens and pests out, as well as to control the ventilation to maintain a consistent climate inside.
There are cutting-edge features like a charger for electric cars alongside old-school finishes like plaster walls and insulation made of recycled blue jeans.
Just as with electric cars and organic foods, owners will pay a premium for a PureHouse. McDonald says the home will cost about 10 to 15 percent more than a typical home, but he adds it's only a matter of time before the savings on energy bills hammer down the overall cost. His PureHouse is on the market for $2.8 million.
Crews expect to wrap up construction on the Westport home by the middle of October.