Transaction Description:
PURPOSE: THE GREEN AND RESILIENT RETROFIT PROGRAM (GRRP) WAS ESTABLISHED BY SECTION 30002 OF THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT OF 2022, (PUBLIC LAW 117-169) (THE “IRA”), TITLED “IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY OR WATER EFFICIENCY OR CLIMATE RESILIENCE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING.” GRRP OFFERS LOANS AND GRANTS FOR HUD-ASSISTED MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES TO IMPROVE ENERGY OR WATER EFFICIENCY, ENHANCE INDOOR AIR QUALITY OR SUSTAINABILITY, IMPLEMENT THE USE OF ZERO-EMISSION ELECTRICITY GENERATION, LOW-EMISSION BUILDING MATERIALS OR PROCESSES, ENERGY STORAGE, OR BUILDING ELECTRIFICATION STRATEGIES, OR ADDRESS CLIMATE RESILIENCE. ANNOUNCED GRRP AWARDS CAN BE FOUND AT WITHIN THE HYPERLINKED AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT FOR EACH COHORT AT HTTPS://WWW.HUD.GOV/GRRP (E.G. WAVE 1 UNDER ELEMENTS AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT).; ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: GRRP FUNDS ARE USED TO FINANCE REHABILITATION PROJECTS THAT IMPROVE ENERGY OR WATER EFFICIENCY; ENHANCE INDOOR AIR QUALITY OR SUSTAINABILITY; IMPLEMENT THE USE OF ZERO-EMISSION ELECTRICITY GENERATION, LOW-EMISSION BUILDING MATERIALS OR PROCESSES, ENERGY STORAGE, OR BUILDING ELECTRIFICATION STRATEGIES; OR IMPROVE THE CLIMATE RESILIENCE OF ELIGIBLE HUD-ASSISTED MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES. THESE AFFORDABLE HOUSING REHABILITATION PROJECTS MAY ENTAIL MOUNTING A ROOFTOP SOLAR SYSTEM TO GENERATE RENEWAL ENERGY, CONVERTING FROM GAS-POWERED HVAC SYSTEMS TO ELECTRIC HEAT PUMPS TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS, AND/OR INSTALLING WIND- AND IMPACT-RESISTANT WINDOWS AND DOORS TO MAKE THEM RESILIENT TO SEVERE CLIMATE CONDITIONS –AMONG MANY OTHER ELIGIBLE MEASURES AND PROPERTY IMPROVEMENTS AIMED AT IMPROVING UTILITY EFFICIENCY, CLIMATE RESILIENCE, AND REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS.
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. ALL GRRP INVESTMENTS WILL BE MADE IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMMUNITIES SERVING LOW-INCOME FAMILIES AND WILL REQUIRE AT LEAST FIVE YEARS OF EXTENDED AFFORDABILITY, AND A MINIMUM OF 15 YEARS OF AFFORDABILITY.
HUD OFFERS GRRP FUNDING THROUGH THREE AWARD COHORTS DESIGNED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF PROPERTIES IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS: ELEMENTS, LEADING EDGE, AND COMPREHENSIVE. APPROXIMATELY $140,000,000 WAS MADE AVAILABLE TO THE ELEMENTS COHORT, WHICH PROVIDES MODEST FUNDING TO OWNERS TO ADD PROVEN AND MEANINGFUL GREEN AND RESILIENT MEASURES TO THE CONSTRUCTION SCOPES OF IN-PROGRESS RECAPITALIZATION TRANSACTIONS. APPROXIMATELY $400,000,000 WAS MADE AVAILABLE TO THE LEADING EDGE COHORT, WHICH PROVIDES FUNDING FOR RETROFIT ACTIVITIES TO ACHIEVE AMBITIOUS OUTCOMES, INCLUDING GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION, NET ZERO, RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION, USE OF BUILDING MATERIALS WITH LOWER EMBODIED CARBON, AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE INVESTMENTS. APPROXIMATELY $1,470,000,000 WAS MADE AVAILABLE TO THE COMPREHENSIVE COHORT, WHICH PROVIDES FUNDING TO INITIATE RECAPITALIZATION INVESTMENTS DESIGNED FROM INCEPTION AROUND BOTH PROVEN AND INNOVATIVE GREEN AND RESILIENT MEASURES FOR PROPERTIES WITH A HIGH NEED FOR INVESTMENTS. UNDER ALL THREE AWARD COHORTS, OWNERS RECEIVE FUNDING IN THE FORM OF GRANTS OR LOANS. THROUGH 2024, GRRP WILL HAVE AWARDED ROUGHLY 250 PROPERTIES PRESERVING APPROXIMATELY 30,000 HOMES, THE MAJORITY OF WHICH ARE AFFORDABLE TO VERY LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, SENIORS, AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.; EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THE PROGRAM WILL INCREASE ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY, CREATE RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION, AND MAKE RESILIENCE IMPROVEMENTS TO PROTECT RESIDENTS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING FROM NATURAL HAZARDS. TO MEASURE THIS, THE GRRP INVESTMENTS IMPLEMENTED ARE EXPECTED TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BY 50% CUMULATIVELY ACROSS THESE PROPERTIES AND TO REDUCE MODELED ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY AT LEAST 25% AT EACH OF THESE PROPERTIES. SUCCESS OF THE GRRP GOALS WILL BE MEASURED USING EPA PORTFOLIO MANAGER’S UTILITY BENCHMARKING SYSTEM. INDIVIDUAL AWARDS WILL ENCOURAGE THE DEEPEST ENERGY SAVINGS AND EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS POSSIBLE BY FUNDING THE MOST IMPACTFUL IMPROVEMENTS IDENTIFIED THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENTS OF THE BUILDINGS OR THROUGH ACHIEVING A TOP LEVEL, HIGH PERFORMANCE GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION.
FURTHER, GRRP-FUNDED PROPERTY IMPROVEMENTS WILL ENHANCE RESIDENTS’ QUALITY OF LIFE AND PROVIDE HEALTHIER AND SAFER LIVING ENVIRONMENTS BY IMPROVING INDOOR AIR QUALITY, MAINTAINING COMFORTABLE LIVING TEMPERATURES, AND PREPARING BUILDINGS TO KEEP RESIDENTS SAFE THROUGH EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS AND NATURAL DISASTERS. RESILIENCE IMPROVEMENTS WILL BE CAPTURED BY A RESILIENCE ASSESSMENT THAT WILL BE REQUIRED FOR ALL GRRP PARTICIPANTS. RESILIENCE ASSESSMENT DATA MAY BE REPORTED FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT THERE ARE NO SPECIFIC PROGRAM GOALS FOR RESILIENCE. ; INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: THE PROGRAM AIMS TO BENEFIT RESIDENTS AND OWNERS OF HUD-ASSISTED MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES AND THE COMMUNITIES AT-LARGE THEY RESIDE IN. THIS INCLUDES PROPERTIES ASSISTED BY SECTION 8 PROJECT-BASED RENTAL ASSISTANCE, SECTION 202 SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR LOW-INCOME ELDERLY, SECTION 811 SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR LOW-INCOME PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES PROGRAMS, AND SECTION 236 INTEREST REDUCTION PAYMENTS (IRP).; SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS.
