HUD Finalizes Deal to Promote Energy Efficiency and Climate Resilience for New York Families

The transaction is funded by the Inflation Reduction Act as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to provide more comfortable homes for families.

NEW YORK CITY - Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Multifamily Housing Programs, announced it has completed a $192,000 loan transaction under the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) with L+M Fund Management to help finance energy efficiency and climate resilience renovations of the Revive 103 apartment community in New York, New York. This is the first transaction closing of a GRRP award in New York, with loan funds incorporated into the construction project to increase the energy efficiency and climate resiliency of the property.

“Thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, we are making real improvements to lower housing costs and make the lives of the people we serve more comfortable,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “Today’s announcement will reduce heating and cooling costs and provide more comfortable temperatures for dozens of HUD-assisted households in New York City.”

Revive 103 is a 60-unit, six-story building serving very low-income families. HUD provides project-based rental assistance to 59 of the households residing at the property. Originally constructed in 1920, the property is undergoing rehabilitation to update kitchens, bathrooms, and common spaces. L+M Development Partners will use the funding to preserve this critical housing stock and improve the quality of life for residents by tightening the building envelope, sealing all windows and openings in the exterior to reduce heating and cooling costs, which will provide more comfortable and predictable temperatures for residents, during extreme weather events-particularly during times of extreme heat.

“We are proud of the work being undertaken by owners like L+M Fund Management throughout the country who are making use of this Administration’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program funding to improve the lives of residents and communities,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs Ethan Handelman. “The rehabilitation work at Revive 103 is just one example of innovative use of public and private funds to make assisted housing properties healthier, safer, and more energy efficient.”

About GRRP

Funded under the Inflation Reduction Act, GRRP provides funding for direct loans and grants to make improvements to HUD-subsidized properties serving very low-income families, seniors, and persons with disabilities. Properties were selected through three distinct funding opportunities designed to meet the diverse needs of properties across the country. Funding can be used to improve energy or water efficiency, enhance indoor air quality, install zero-emission electricity generation and energy storage equipment, acquire low-emission building materials, implement building electrification strategies, or address and improve climate resilience. The program seeks to amplify recent technological advancements in energy and water efficiency and to bring a new focus on preparing for climate hazards by reducing residents’ and properties’ exposure to hazards and by protecting life, livability, and property when disaster strikes.

HUD has offered funding through three GRRP award types targeting HUD-subsidized affordable housing:

• Elements awards provide modest funding for property owners to incorporate proven and impactful climate resilience and carbon reduction measures to the construction scopes of an in-progress recapitalization transactions. Property owners use the funds to add green or resilient elements to existing scopes of property rehabilitation.
• Leading Edge awards provide funding for property owners to meet ambitious carbon reduction, renewable energy generation, and resilience goals without requiring extensive technical assistance from HUD.
• Comprehensive awards provide funding for properties with the highest need for climate resilience and energy efficiency upgrades to undertake a deep retrofit, focused on innovative energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions reductions, green and healthy housing measures, renewable energy generation, and climate resilience investments. Comprehensive Awards are designed for the widest range of properties and are accompanied by direct support from HUD to achieve the retrofit.

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. 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.
• 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 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.

More program information is available on the GRRP Website.