An innovative new apartment development in Mesa, Ariz., will place greater emphasis on teaching residents about sustainable lifestyles in the home by making them more aware of best practices in energy use and waste habits.

Verde Dimora (pictured), set to open next year in Mesa, Ariz., is the project of Dan Kauffman of Kauffman Homes."We hear all the time that young adults are concerned about energy use," Kauffman says. "I wanted to build a property that promotes and teaches the benefits of sustainability."

Residents will voluntarily be able to watch a 90-minute presentation in the community's theater room that teaches them how to read utility meters and gain an understanding of sustainability best practices such as biking, cleaning products, public transportation and how to improve efficiency.

The 153-unit community will be submetered through a wireless device attached to the water heater, and management staff, as well as residents, will receive regular reports that enable them to monitor their usage.

Through the submeter reports, residents will be made aware of the amount of water they are using, and with that information will be able to make adjustments on what they use, says Decca's Steve Marascalco.

The two-building community by Decca Multi-Family Builders includes electric car-charging stations, bike storage and repair rooms on every floor, with garden plots and recycling on every floor.

Additionally, Verde Dimora's covered parking areas will include solar-paneled roofs. Energy they generate will power the common areas.

The community's management company will create incentives in the form of prizes or freebies to help motivate water conservation, Kauffman says.

"The water situation in Arizona is not nearly as extreme as it is in California—with its locked rates and fines—but saving water has always been an issue in Arizona," Marascalco says. "When it comes to using water, mostly apartment residents don't care. This will help. I have not seen a system such as this one in other market-rate apartments."

Kauffman also is building an adjoining pre-school facility, which can occupy the children of students who either live in Verde Dimora or who attend the adjacent community college.

"Residents knowing that they don't have to drive 10 miles to drop their kids at day care is a real benefit about living here," Kauffman says.