HUD Awards $73.5 Million to Make Housing Safer, More Efficient, and Climate Resilient for Low-Income Americans as Part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it is awarding $73.5 million in new loans and grants under the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) to support extensive energy efficiency and climate resilience renovations for low-income Americans as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The investment from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act will make homes safer, more efficient, and resilient to the climate crisis at 10 HUD-assisted multifamily properties that provide affordable housing for approximately 1,400 low-income families, including 44 homes for low-income seniors. The announcement was made at Stuart Gardens apartments in Newport News, VA, one of the properties receiving funding under the program, which is owned by affordable housing provider Vitus. As of today, HUD has made more than $368 million in GRRP awards to support renovations at 84 multifamily properties that will improve over 9,000 homes for very low-income households, seniors, and people with disabilities.

“The Green and Resilient Retrofit Program ensures low-income individuals and families are not left out of the climate change conversation,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “HUD wants these families to have better access to clean energy upgrades like solar panels and modern and efficient heating and cooling systems, so that they too can have resilient homes. This additional round of funding builds on President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, as we continue to boost energy efficiency and combat climate change in communities throughout the country.”

“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 low-income American families by making their homes safer and more comfortable.”

President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act-the largest climate investment in history-established the GRRP by providing more than $800 million in grant and loan subsidy funding and $4 billion in loan commitment authority for efficiency and resiliency improvements. All the investments under the GRRP will advance President Biden’s historic environmental justice agenda, in alignment with the Administration’s Justice40 Initiative which aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Retrofitting these homes will reduce their carbon emissions, make them more resilient to extreme weather events, and enhance their ability to more quickly respond to and recover from such events. The grants and loans announced today are the second set of awards that HUD has made under the GRRP’s Leading Edge category, which requires property owners to commit to achieving recognized high-performance green building certifications, such as the National Green Building Standard’s Gold certification with the Green+ Net Zero Energy designation. The certifications recognize significant property upgrades, such as on-site solar power generation, wind turbines, impact- and wind-resistant roofing, and other substantial energy efficiency and climate resilience improvements.

“Today’s award for Stuart Gardens will help Vitus invest in their property to make it more efficient and resilient for the long-term benefit of the families that live there and the Newport News community,” said Ethan Handelman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs. “This is what GRRP awards are doing around the country – investing in homes and communities to make them healthier and more resilient for the future.”

The 10 properties receiving Leading Edge awards represent a mix of property sizes. The majority are supported by HUD’s Multifamily Section 8 project-based rental assistance program. Six of the properties have between 100 and 200 affordable rental homes, while two properties are smaller than 100 homes. One property, supported by HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program for low-income seniors, has 44 homes.

About GRRP

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. Investments under the program will be made in affordable housing communities serving low-income families in accordance with President Biden’s agenda for building the American economy from the middle out and the bottom up.

The GRRP Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) and accompanying guidance detail the multiple funding opportunities to 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.

Property owners are encouraged to continue to submit applications for grant awards or loans in any of the three categories. HUD is reviewing applications under one category each month until all funding is expended. HUD expects to announce awards regularly throughout 2024.

The Inflation Reduction Act also established HUD’s Energy and Water Benchmarking Service, which is available now for properties receiving rental assistance from its Multifamily project-based programs. This new, free service provides participating multifamily property owners with data on energy and water consumption at their properties to aid in identifying opportunities to improve efficiency. Property owners can also use the Energy and Water Benchmarking information to assess rehabilitation efforts that may be eligible for grant or loan funding under the GRRP or other sources of funding.

View the full list of grantees here.

Green and Resilient Retrofit Program Leading Edge Round Two Awards