HUD Invests $750,000 to Boost Energy Efficiency and Climate Resilience for Low-Income Senior Housing in Tennessee

HUD No. 24-105 HUD Public Affairs (202) 708-0685

FOR RELEASE Wednesday May 8, 2024

LEXINGTON, TN - Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Multifamily Housing Programs, announced it has completed a $750,000 grant transaction under the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) with Wesley Living of Tennessee. The transaction will be used to finance energy efficiency and climate resilient renovations of the Woodland Homes apartment community in Lexington, Tennessee. This represents the incorporation of a GRRP award into a construction project to increase the energy efficiency and climate resilience of the property.

"Supporting sustainable and affordable homes for all is at the core of our mission," said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. "The completion of this transaction under GRRP in support of a low-income senior housing community in rural Tennessee is just one example of our investments into climate resilience for communities across the country."

Woodland Homes is a 61-unit, 15-building apartment community serving very low-income seniors. HUD provides project-based rental assistance to 60 of the households at the property. Originally constructed in 1920 and last renovated in 2011, the property is undergoing a $5.09 million dollar rehabilitation to upgrade the electrical system at the property, replace roofs, and perform additional building envelope improvements. Wesley Living will use HUD's GRRP funding to supplement transformer upgrades for electrification work, and to replace the existing gas fired furnace with split HVAC systems.

"We are pleased to complete this Green and Resilient Retrofit Program funding transaction with Wesley Living to help upgrade the property, reduce carbon emissions, and make residents' homes safer and more energy efficient," said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs Ethan Handelman. "Funding this work in Tennessee and similar properties throughout the country to improve the lives of residents is exactly what the program was designed to do."

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.
• As of March 28, 2024, HUD has awarded $544.4 million in GRRP funding to improve 109 properties in 38 states and the District of Columbia. These GRRP investments will improve over 12,600 rental homes.
• GRRP projects range from targeted upgrades supplementing in-progress recapitalization efforts to major net-zero renovations.
• More than 700 properties have also signed up for HUD's free energy and water consumption benchmarking service, also funded through the Inflation Reduction Act. With benchmarking, HUD-assisted housing property owners can better understand the energy and water consumption at their properties to assess potential upgrades.
• In addition to ensuring that participating properties undergo deep retrofit work to increase their efficiency, make them greener and more resilient to climate hazards, it will also serve to preserve these units as affordable housing long-term.

More program information is available on the GRRP Website.