HUD Announces More Than $5 Million in New Investments for Camden, New Jersey

New awards will support climate resilience and energy efficiency renovations.

CAMDEN - On Monday, September 9, 2024, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman traveled to Camden, New Jersey, to announce a $5,640,000 grant to Northgate II, a 402-unit affordable housing development in North Camden, to support significant energy efficiency and climate resilience renovations and improve the quality of life of residents. The HUD award to Northgate II and its owner, Fair Share Housing Development, is part of HUD’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP), 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. Today’s announcement through GRRP was made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals to bolster affordable housing options and ensure all homes are efficient and resilient to extreme weather events.

“Thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, we have granted crucial funds to support clean, green, and affordable housing for families in nearly every corner of this the country,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “Today, I am proud to grant more than $5 million to improve the air quality and sustainability of hundreds of affordable homes right here in Camden. New Jersey.”

Owners of properties participating in HUD’s Multifamily Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance, Section 202 Supportive Housing for Low-Income Elderly, and Section 811 Supportive Housing for Low-Income Persons with Disabilities programs were eligible to receive grants or loans under GRRP. Northgate II received the grant under GRRP’s Leading Edge category, which will increase energy and water efficiency, reduce climate pollution, generate renewable energy, promote the use of green building materials, and improve the quality of life for residents by making their homes more resilient to climate hazards.

“On behalf of Northgate II and its development partners, Fair Share Housing Development, Inc. (FSHD) and MDG Design and Construction Company (MDG), we thank the Biden-Harris Administration, in particular HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman, for awarding the Northgate II Low-Rise Development (94 affordable family units) this GRRP, Leading Edge grant in the amount of $5,640,000 to enable us to renovate the Northgate II Low-Rise units to improve quality of life for the residents through green development,” said Peter O’Connor, Owner of Northgate II. “We also thank our support system lead by Congressman Donald Norcross and Camden City Mayor Victor Carstarphen. Without their help, we could not have achieved this award.”

This grant will enable Northgate II, which was originally built in 1978-1980, to update and upgrade the project’s energy-related components by, among other elements, converting from gas to electric service, revising and improving insulation, modernizing the lighting systems and the complete renovation of the buildings using environmentally friendly clean building materials.

The grant announced today is the second GRRP awarded in New Jersey. In February, HUD awarded $10 million to Rowan Towers in Trenton, bringing the New Jersey GRRP awards total to $15,640,000. This is the fourth and final set of awards made under the GRRP’s Leading Edge category, which provides funding to properties with plans to make significant energy efficiency improvements related to carbon reduction, renewable energy generation, the use of clean building materials with lower embodied carbon. Two remaining award announcements for the Comprehensive and Elements categories are expected in the coming months.

“I am incredibly grateful to the Biden-Harris Administration, Congressman Donald Norcross, and HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman for fighting to preserve affordable, high-quality, and energy efficient housing in our most vulnerable community like Camden,” said Camden Mayor Victor G. Carstarphen. “Regardless of zip code, Camden residents and those living in the other ten communities deserve modernized housing. This Green and Resilient Retrofit Program grant award to Northgate II will result in much needed upgrades to the complex and a significant improvement in the quality of life for our residents.”

President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act—the largest climate investment in history—established the GRRP in 2022 to fund energy efficiency and climate resiliency improvements for multifamily properties participating in HUD’s project-based rental assistance programs. 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.