Green Affordable Housing Partner Summaries

Below are descriptions of some of the activities of the Trust's green affordable housing partners, as explained by representatives from each organization. For a complete list of partners and activities, visit the Green Affordable Housing webpage.

Boston Community Capital
Boston Community Capital (BCC), along with its partner Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP), is using a $5 million MTC award to develop a financing model that will stabilize and reduce between 30%-50% of future utility costs for affordable housing through investments in renewable energy, conservation, and energy efficiency.  Central to this program will be substantial installations of photovoltaic systems to generate solar electricity.  BCC and MHP will leverage additional funds for conservation and energy efficiency investments to reduce the properties’ electricity, heat, hot water and water usage.  

The program aggregates investments in a range of properties and is designed to eliminate the need for affordable housing owners to raise up-front capital or take on additional debt—a major barrier for most existing affordable housing projects. BCC has selected seven affordable rental housing projects for its preliminary PV funding commitments.  Those projects are located across Massachusetts and include over 1,100 units of low and moderate-income housing.  BCC and MHP have an additional 20 properties that they are working with for conservation, solar hot water, and energy efficiency investments.  BCC expects to finalize its project selection process by year end, complete detailed engineering and energy audit studies in early 2008 and begin installing the renewable energy systems during the spring of 2008.
--DeWitt Jones

Cape Light Compact
Through the MTC’s Green Affordable Housing Initiative, the Cape Light Compact will green up 60 affordable, new construction homes in Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard.  The homes will be built to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes standards as well as incorporate renewable energy in order to help residents live in healthy homes that will reduce overall energy costs. 

The Jenney Way Homes in Edgartown is one of the first projects the Compact is working with. With the expertise of the development team of South Mountain Company and the Island Affordable Housing Fund, the four affordable units on this property will likely reach the LEED for Homes Platinum rating, the highest of green building and energy efficiency.  These homes also each have 1.52 kW photovoltaic systems to help defray electricity costs for the homeowners. 

Gull’s Nest Condominiums in Provincetown is a collaborative effort of a developer (Anathan Benson LLC) and builder (Kevin Bazarian) that are new to the affordable and green building markets.  Using the shell of a dilapidated motel, they have constructed twelve beautiful condominiums in close proximity to the town center and that feature a 17.5 kW photovoltaic system that covers the entire roof. 
--Margaret M. Song

City of Boston Department of Neighborhood Development
The Department of Neighborhood Development (DND) received a $2 million MTC grant to incorporate renewable energy, energy efficiency, green design, and healthy homes techniques into affordable housing developments through the creation of its Green Affordable Housing Program (GAHP). Accomplishments of the program include a revised funding Request for Proposals, revised Design Standards (including a new LEED Silver certifiable standard), ongoing outreach and a training program for the development community, and work to establish an appropriate energy-efficiency standard for buildings of at least four stories. Awards have been made to six developments with the anticipated creation of approximately 141 kW of production over 237 units.

DND is well positioned to wisely use further MTC funding to promote renewable energy and green building in its affordable housing inventory. Based on the number of applications in the April 2007 funding RFP round, there is strong developer appetite to include renewable energy in development plans. Furthermore, DND has ramped up its Green Program, explaining technical MTC matters and requirements to developers. There exists a developer appetitie for renewable energy, and a development communicate that has been educated on how to incorporate renewable energy.
--Patricia Burke

HAP
The first project HAP, Inc. funded through the Green Affordable Housing Initiative was Hilltown CDC’s Laurel Road Residences in Haydenville, MA. The 11-unit project is targeted 100% towards families that meet affordable housing homeownership qualifications. HAP provided consulting and MTC funds were used to provide this 11 single-family homeownership project with upgraded insulation, cement board siding, and photovoltaic systems totaling 30kW. The homes are oriented to maximize PV production and are built for some passive solar heating. These affordable and green homes will use 65% less energy to operate ensuring that they remain affordable over the long term. 

HAP and its educational partner RDI have created a comprehensive education program which has held three trainings with 90 attendees comprised of architects, builders, affordable housing developers, building inspectors and health officials. The training sessions have focused on increasing building energy performance, decreasing water use, and moisture control.
--Tom Rossmassler

Mass Housing

With MTC’s four-year commitment of $8.5 million, MassHousing anticipates bringing renewable energy installations to more than 15 multifamily developments.  The program will demonstrate to nearly 1000 households the benefits of clean, renewable energy from the sun or wind.  All projects have common area electric costs that will be reduced by the electricity generated on site.   By lowering operating costs, these projects will be able to invest in other measures to benefit the tenants and the developments. 

Our first completed installation at Trolley Square in Cambridge was a winner in the national Home Depot Foundation’s Awards for Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly.  The 40 unit 100% affordable development emphasized healthy and energy efficient measures and topped off the project with a 44 kW solar installation, including a few of the solar panels on the street-front façade to demonstrate to the busy neighborhood the development’s solar capabilities.

In Salem a hilltop elderly housing development is using a feasibility grant to investigate the potential for a large wind turbine installation.  We believe that Mass Housing’s unique position in the affordable housing financing pipeline positions us to continue to be able to deliver similar numbers of green renewable affordable housing developments if allocated additional MTC funding.   
--Decia Goodwin

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