diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index 9edd5a4e5..c5bf06914 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ version = '1.0-SNAPSHOT'
 
 description = """Hello world sample web app"""
 
-sourceCompatibility = 1.8
-targetCompatibility = 1.8
+sourceCompatibility = 1.5
+targetCompatibility = 1.5
 
 repositories {
      maven { url "http://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2" }
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 1ed24e13f..0aa66b65c 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
   <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
   <name>Hello world sample web app</name>
   <url>http://maven.apache.org</url>
+
   <dependencies>
     <dependency>
       <groupId>junit</groupId>
@@ -15,7 +16,14 @@
       <scope>test</scope>
     </dependency>
   </dependencies>
+
   <build>
     <finalName>helloworld</finalName>
   </build>
+
+  <properties>
+    <maven.compiler.source>1.8</maven.compiler.source>
+    <maven.compiler.target>1.8</maven.compiler.target>
+  </properties>
+
 </project>