Wesley Cox and Rob Elliott.

New, environmentally friendly and energy efficient townhomes – the first of their kind on the Eastern Shore -- will be available to rent next year, built by Insight Homes.

The company, based in Bridgeville, purchased 88 lots in The Villages at Parson’s Lake, about nine acres on Parsons Lake Drive off East Naylor Mill Road, explained Wesley Cox, senior advisor of SVN-Miller Commercial Real Estate.

Construction began this year and some of the townhomes, probably 16, should be available by winter, said Rob Elliott, president of Insight Homes. Each 1,500-square-foot dwelling has three bedrooms and two and one-half bathrooms. Monthly rent will cost about $1,400.

The company’s homes are known for being about 60 percent more efficient than others being built today, Elliott said.

“Among builders our size, there are less than 30 that build homes the way we do, from a construction standpoint, and probably more like five or six. The rigidity of the house is important. Our houses are built so everything is so tight, very rigid, so they don’t loosen up over time.

“The structural integrity of the house is a big deal but certainly what people know us best for is probably the energy usage. It’s extremely low. We are known for our low energy bills. In fact, there is a rating that is used that is kind of like a miles per gallon for cars. It’s called a HERS score. We have the lowest score anywhere,” Elliott said.

To assure air quality, Insight Homes installs a central vacuum system that carries dirt outside, Elliott said.

“Everything we do is on a completely different level. We’re under the philosophy that there is a group of people out there that want a better home. The cool thing about it is, it pays for itself because of the efficiency. It works really nicely,” Elliott said.

In 2006, part of the Parsons Lake property was developed by a local builder who planned to put up townhomes but only about one-third of the work was finished before the downturn in the economy. It had been sitting idle until Bradley Gillis with SVN-Miller listed it. Cox secured a buyer. It took 16 months to complete the transaction, due to various approvals to bring the project to today’s development standards, Cox said.

This is the second property in Wicomico County that Cox sold to Insight Homes. In March, he sold 22 lots in Sassafras Meadows, where single-family homes were built. There start at $169,000, Cox said.

Sassafras Meadows is located on Marquis Avenue, before Naylor Mill Road, he said.

“We now have a different product being offered in the market that hasn’t been offered anywhere before with benefits such as having the cleanest air of any other house,” Cox said.