In Planning for Affordable Housing With oil above $110 a barrel, the same people who used to say, ‘We can’t finance green building because we’re concerned about affordability’ now say ‘we need to
fund green building because we’re concerned about affordability.’*
Lucille McEwen, Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement
*http://www.practitionerresources.org/cache/documents/666/66601.pdf
According to Walker Wells, Director of Global Green's Urbanism Program, affordable housing is the gateway to development in redevelopment areas. Affordable housing is a public asset, it is an investment in a community and, as such, all the residents in that community are the investors. Green affordability is a microcosm of sustainability because nowhere else in planning or design is the triple bottom line addressed with such expediency. The building and operation of affordable housing must be economical, equitable and ecologically sound or the housing cannot remain affordable to lower-income households. If it's not green, it's not affordable.
The energy burden on low-income households is four times that of other American households as a proportion of income. As housing costs include rent and utilities, rent at an affordable level can be overshadowed by rapidly rising energy costs, and an inability to pay for utilities is second only to an inability to pay rent as a cause of homelessness. Any fear that green ordinances, codes and standards will increase "first costs" or design and construction expenditures (accounting for 5-10% of total life-cycle cost), potentially dissuading developers from approaching affordable housing through green practices can be offset by knowledge of how operations and maintenance costs account for 60-80% of the total life-cycle costs, with considerable cost savings over time to the owner and/or renters. The Affordable Housing Energy Efficiency Handbook, Edition 1, from the Affordable Housing Energy Efficiency Alliance, addresses the unique challenges to, and solutions for, energy-efficient affordable housing, including how to equitably determine who pays for and who benefits from efficiency measures and incentives, how residential vs. common areas are regulated, and how to calculate up-front and long-term costs and benefits for the developer and for approaching funding sources.
Beyond stabilizing energy costs for lower-income households, greening affordable housing has benefits for the community and the region.
- Market-rate multi family builders can capture market advantage by distinguishing themselves as leaders in the green affordable-housing field
- Projected energy savings reduce the cost to the homebuyer, allowing them to upgrade, which profits the builder
- Green building reduces energy costs for lower-income people and the elderly, allowing them to participate in the economy in other ways
- Integrated, performance-based systems reduce repair and maintenance calls and provide a healthier living environment
- Required third-party inspections ensure quality materials and construction
- Energy-efficiency programs offer design assistance, training and cash incentives to builders
To download a free copy of The Affordable Housing Energy Efficiency Handbook visit:
http://h-m-g.com/multifamily/AHEEA/Handbook/default.htm
"Green is the right way to produce affordable housing. It is economically sensible. As a practical matter, it is readily doable. And increasingly, in more and more places, it’s becoming mandatory. The price for all the essentials of green development is trending sharply downward. At the same time, special funding for cutting-edge green innovation is becoming more common.
Competition among skilled professionals, contractors, and suppliers – combined with a growing ease in finding and using green technology – has resulted, in many places, in a steady decline in the “green premium” developers once had to pay for efficient, healthy housing."*
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a public notice in June 2008, entitled "Renewable energy and green construction practices in Public Housing" (http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/publications/notices/08/pih2008-25.pdf), which defines green-building principles for public housing and encourages public-housing agencies to use renewable resources, including solar and wind, and green-construction techniques. The subject memorandum resources are listed below.
Important Resources
Enterprise Brings Recovery Act Financing to Poor Neighborhoods
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has awarded $95 million of its $1.5 billion in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) awards to Enterprise Community Investment to facilitate community development projects in low-income areas. Enterprise will offer a 39 percent tax credit to attract investment in commercial and mixed-use developments, provided the projects are at least 20 percent commercial, are located in economically distressed communities, and incorporate energy efficiency, transit-oriented locations, renewable energy, green building techniques and brownfield reclamation. You can find more information at Green Communities Online.
Getting Started with Green Preservation
Produced by Bay Area LISC's Green Connection program and the LISC's Affordable Housing Preservation Initiative, this site provides guidance on how greening fits into the process for preservation projects of existing HUD programs. Click here.
Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing – Global Green USA, Island Press, 2007
*Sustainable, affordable, doable: Demystifying the Process of Green Affordable Housinghttp://www.practitionerresources.org/cache/documents/666/66601.pdf
Best Practices for Effecting the Rehabilitation of Affordable Housing http://www.huduser.org/Publications/pdf/BarriersVol2_part1.pdf
Renewable Energy and Green Construction Practices in Public Housing
Energy Star for Affordable Housing: More Energy Efficient, Livable, Sustainable Communities
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=bldrs_lenders_raters.pt_affordable_housing
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Watersense® http://www.epa.gov/owm/water-efficiency
The EPA’s Indoor Environments Division (www.epa.gov/iaq) Green Indoor Environments webpage (www.epa.gov/iaq/greenbuilding)
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Homes Initiative for Affordable Housing (www.usgbc.org/leed/homes/)
Green Communities grants, financing, tax-credit equity and technical assistance to developers for creating new and rehabilitating existing low-income housing according to specific green criteria. Its green criteria are closely aligned with the LEED ratings system. (www.greencommunitiesonline.org/)
Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE) www.dsireusa.org
Combined Heat and Power for PHAs screening tool for multi-family building owners or managerswww.hud.gov/offices/cpd/library/energy/index.cfm
PIH Energy Conservation Clearinghouse www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/ph/phecc
HUD’s PATH program www.pathnet.org
PGE Solar Electric Systems for Multi-tenant Units
PGE Presentation (pdf)
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