History

In 2005,  Cory Suter wrote a business plan for BioNeighbors in his senior level Venture Creation class at James Madison University.  A year later in 2006, as a Teach For America corps member, Cory bought a home in Philadelphia that needed roof repairs. After not being able to readily find a roofer who could install a more energy efficient cool or green roof, Cory, an experienced construction worker since the year 2000, partnered with Ronald’s Roofing to install a new modified bituminous membrane on his house, and together they experimented with a white ‘cool’ coating.  Friends quickly wanted longer lasting white roofs on their homes as well, so Cory decided to start BioNeighbors Sustainable Homes, after his original business plan.

Cory started with a passion for helping the older housing stock of Philadelphia last longer and use less energy. Green roofs seemed way too heavy for most existing houses, so Cory focused on weatherization, insulation, and energy-saving roofing. That winter BioNeighbors joined the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia. By summer, he had installed his first green roof in with a locally blended growth medium in partnership with Karen Stabenow, and was getting busy with flat roof restorations. At the same time, Cory’s thrift store responsibilities were also growing as the store expanded under his leadership.

BioNeighbors’ work attracted new clients as well as media attention:

Our old mascot, a fuel-sipping, small VW turbo-diesel pickup truck, also caught people’s attention and earned BioNeighbors some press in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Mr. Rabbit”, as BioNeighbors’ mascot truck came to be known, could achieve over 36 mpg (45mpg after the engine was rebuilt) consistently even in the city and even when carrying loads of roofing materials weighing over 1000 pounds. In the spring of 2009 after helping complete BioNeighbors’ 25th roof project, “Mr. Rabbit” was sold to a Collector, and replaced with the most efficient American-made truck on the market at that time.

In the fall of 2009, Cory earned his Green Roof Professional Accreditation through Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and completed his first intensive roof garden.  A map of green and cool roofs in Philadelphia containing some of work can be found here.  To learn more about the large variety of work we’ve accomplished, please visit our portfolio.

The summer of 2010, brought new opportunities for expansion.  BioNeighbors hired on two full-time employees and two full-time sub-contractors to keep up with the work. Unique installations included the Intensive  rooftop gardens with yard space on the roofs of the Sheldon Crossing carriage home development in Manayunk, thirty seven cool roofs on the block of 1200 Wolf Street, and training dozens more students to install green and cool roofs through an expanded joint venture in neighborhood transformation with Partnership CDC in West Philadelphia, and through the ‘Striving for Green’ program with the Metropolitan Career Center in Center City.

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