Biden-Harris Administration Announces Nearly $67 Million in New Funding to Make Homes More Energy Efficient and Climate Resilient

Awards from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda will combat the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and improve lives for residents in HUD-supported housing.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced nearly $67 million in new grant and loan awards for 12 properties under its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, bringing the total funding awarded under this program to more than $610 million. These grants and loans will support energy efficiency and climate resilience renovations to keep more than 14,000 homes at properties housing low-income individuals, families, and seniors safer and more comfortable, especially during extreme weather events. Assistant Secretary for Housing Julia R. Gordon and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Ethan Handelman announced the new grant and loan awards at an event at Washington Park apartments in Cincinnati, OH. The property, owned by Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc., received a $2.2 million surplus cash loan award from HUD for energy efficiency and climate resilience upgrades for 37 homes that serve low-income individuals and families residing at Washington Park.

“At HUD, we work to deliver on President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, investing millions more to ensure the families that we serve live in homes that are healthier,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “These investments will reduce costs and make homes healthier, cheaper to operate, and climate resilient.”

“Today’s announcement underscores the keen appetite by owners of assisted housing to increase energy efficiency and climate resilience measures across the country and how the President’s Investing in America agenda helps meet that need,” said Assistant Secretary for Housing Julia Gordon. “So far, properties in 36 states and the District of Columbia are putting GRRP funding to work to finance critical upgrades benefitting residents, owners and communities.”

“Far too many Americans struggle to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy. “Today’s awards from the Department of Housing and Urban Development will boost the quality of life for thousands of moderate- and low-income American families by making their homes safer and more comfortable.”

All of the investments announced today will advance environmental justice in line with President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which sets a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Retrofitting these homes will reduce their carbon emissions, ;protecting homes during extreme weather events, and advancing the President’s housing supply and clean energy agenda, ensuring affordable housing stays affordable for residents and building owners across the nation. In fact, two-thirds of the awardees announced today are in communities designated as environmentally disadvantaged areas, as designated by the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.

The grants and loans announced today are the third set of awards made under the GRRP’s Leading Edge category, which requires property owners to commit to achieving recognized, high performance green certifications, such as the National Green Building Standard Gold with Green+ Net Zero Designation. The certifications recognize significant property upgrades such as on-site solar, wind turbines, impact and wind-resistant roofing, and other substantial energy efficiency and climate resilience improvements.

“The enhancements being made to properties using GRRP funding will make the homes of low-income families safer, more efficient, and healthier to live in.” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Ethan Handelman. “We’re pleased to support these efforts to improve the nation’s affordable housing stock while also supporting efforts to combat climate change.”

The 12 properties receiving Leading Edge awards today are all properties participating in the HUD Section 8 project-based rental assistance program for low-income individuals and families. Two properties have more than 200 units, seven properties have between 51-200 units, and three properties have 50 or fewer units. View the full list of grantees below.

President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act—the largest climate investment in history—established the GRRP in 2022 to fund energy efficiency and resiliency improvements for HUD’s assisted rental portfolio.

FACT SHEET: Green and Resilient Retrofit Program Progress to Date

• GRRP is the first HUD program to simultaneously invest in energy efficiency, renewable energy generation, climate resilience, and low-embodied-carbon materials in HUD-assisted multifamily housing to promote housing preservation and health. All of the investments under the GRRP will be made in affordable housing communities serving low-income families, directly benefiting HUD-assisted housing, in alignment with the Justice40 Initiative. Two-thirds of the awardees announced today are in communities designated as environmentally disadvantaged areas, as designated by the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.
• As of May 21, 2024, GRRP funding has been awarded to 122 properties and more than 14,000 rental homes, to make them greener, healthier, and safer for low-income households, seniors, and persons with disabilities. The projects span the range from targeted upgrades to major net-zero renovation for properties in 36 states and the District of Columbia.
• As of May 21, 2024, HUD has awarded more than $610 million in grants and surplus cash loans under the GRRP; $255.5 million in grants and $355.8 million in surplus cash loans.
• Of the awardees receiving grants and loans in seven rounds of funding, 99 are properties receiving Multifamily Section 8 project-based rental assistance, 21 properties are receiving Section 202 project-based rental assistance for low-income seniors, and one is receiving Section 811 project-based rental assistance for low-income persons with disabilities.
• GRRP funding is being used for insulation, energy efficient windows and doors, heat-resistant roofs, energy efficient heating and cooling, resiliency measures such as stronger roofing, flood proof doors and elevated mechanical systems, fortification from wind and other natural hazard perils as outlined in the National Resilience Index and other improvements.
• GRRP is designed to work for properties of all sizes, and with a range of energy efficiency and climate resilience needs. More than 20 properties receiving grant and loan awards have fewer than 50 units, some 77 properties have between 50 and 100 units, while 17 have more than 200 units.
• More than 800 properties have also signed up for HUD’s free energy and water benchmarking service, funded with more than $40 million from the President’s Inflation Reduction Act, so that HUD-assisted housing property owners can better understand the energy and water consumption at their properties in relation to other similar properties. This benchmarking information can in turn be used to assess energy efficiency and water conservation upgrades that can be funded under the GRRP.

Green and Resilient Retrofit Program Background Detail

The GRRP Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and additional guidance detail the multiple funding options for which property owners may apply:

• Elements provides funding to owners for proven and meaningful climate resilience and utility efficiency measures in projects that are already in the process of being recapitalized. 
• Leading Edge provides funding to owners with plans for ambitious retrofit activities to achieve zero energy retrofits and an advanced green certification.
• Comprehensive provides funding to properties with the highest need for climate resilience and utility efficiency upgrades, regardless of prior development or environmental retrofit experience.

Green and Resilient Retrofit Program Leading Edge Round Three Awards
May 21, 2024