HUD Offers $4.8B for "Green, Resilient" Multifamily Retrofits

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development has begun offering $4.8B in direct loans and grants in a new program that will fund energy-efficient and “resilient” renovations for HUD-assisted multifamily properties.

The new program, known as the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP), was established under the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law by President Biden in August of last year.

Properties eligible GRRP loans and grant include those participating in the Section 8 Project-based Rental Assistance, Section 202 Supportive Housing for Low-Income Elderly and Section 811 Supportive Housing for Low-Income Persons with Disabilities programs.

The law allocated $1B to HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs to launch the loan program this year. According to a HUD release, the GRRP is aimed at retrofits that will upgrade HUD-assisted multifamily buildings to make them more energy efficient, “healthier and resilient in the face of natural disasters and climate change.”

The loans and grants will be issued for three funding paths, which the federal agency calls “cohorts,” according to a report in MultifamilyDive.

These include an Elements cohort, aimed at projects upgrading green and resilient features as part of a recapitalization, with HUD providing up to $750K per building or $40K per unit.

What HUD is calling “Leading Edge” funding will cover retrofits that are aiming for green building certifications including NGBS, Passive House or LEED. Applicants, who will be expected to have other funding sources besides HUD, will be eligible for up to $10M per property or $60K per unit.

A “Comprehensive” cohort aims at big-tech projects, including those dealing with significant environmental hazards, that are part of a recap plan. GRRP will cover up to $80M per building or $80K per unit, with 50% reserved for “high-impact” utility, or energy-generation projects, including wind and solar power.

Properties with a partial affordable component can apply for GRRP funding and use it for all eligible retrofit costs, including projects that affect the full property. The Leading Edge and Comprehensive cohorts require at least 50% of the property’s units to be HUD-assisted; the Elements cohort has no minimum, the report said.

A total of 12 funding rounds, four for each cohort, will be awarded on a rolling basis through May 2024.

“Implementing the GRRP will provide much-needed funding to reduce water and utility costs and keep the homes of the nation’s low-income individuals and families safe in the face of climate change,” Julia Gordon, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Housing, said in a statement.

“GRRP also provides a means of addressing issues of housing equity and environmental justice and reducing these properties’ climate impact,” Gordon said.