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Jake Newell knew he wanted to live in a green home within walking distance from both work and perhaps a place to grab a drink with his wife. Cities like Portland, Ore. and Asheville, N.C. had those options. “I asked myself, ‘Why isn’t this type of development happening in Northwest Arkansas?’ We have all the elements of a thriving, artistic, community-focused area, yet we needed the type of home construction that fostered the walkable lifestyle of [those] cities …,” he said.

So in 2007, after researching communities nationwide with energy-efficient, infill developments, he began building. Newell has completed eight homes in the area since 2008, including his own in the heart of Bentonville. Each spec home meets or exceeds Energy Star guidelines. Green elements differ, but he’s utilized recycled cotton insulation, pre-built framing components and no-VOC paints in the past. “I also avoid – to great extent – the use of toxins in the form of flooring, insulation, paints, glues and other finish-out products, which provide a home with an all-around safer living environment.”

In August 2010, Newell completed his building services as Swiftwater Development and teamed up with Todd Jacobs of Appian Inc. to form Jacobs + Newell Company. Their joint focus is on even more complex infill development projects in downtown Fayetteville. The partners’ latest project – two single-family homes at 21 and 25 S. Gregg St. – are rated Silver through the National Association of Home Builders Green Build Program. Just a block from Dickson Street, they’re also accessible to downtown Fayetteville’s farmer’s market, the nearby Frisco Trail, and businesses, restaurants and shops. It’s not a home’s completion that makes the 29-year-old feel accomplished, he said, it’s seeing a homeowner biking Frisco Trail headed toward Fayetteville Square with his daughter in tow in the baby seat.