Lead Performer: Open Market ESCO LLC – Boston, MA
Partners:
-- Reisen Design Associates – Cambridge, MA
-- Keith Construction – Canton, MA
-- Castle Square Tenant Organization – Boston, MA
-- Urban Ingenuity – Washington, D.C.
DOE Total Funding: $500,000
Cost Share: $140,740
Project Term: July 1, 2020 – January 31, 2022 (Phase 1)
Funding Type: Advanced Building Construction Funding Opportunity Announcement
Project Objective
Demand for new housing and lack of innovation in the construction industry have caused housing costs to skyrocket in cities across the country, including Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. As a result, preserving and improving the existing housing stock to ensure the availability of affordable, quality housing is more critical than ever.
The goal of this project is to address this critical housing affordability need with a transformative new approach to public housing rehab projects for multifamily buildings. The result will be a well-documented, integrated project management system with financing options that deliver affordable deep energy retrofit (DER) solutions and can be applied across a large portion of the 355,000 public housing units slated for redevelopment through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program over the next two decades.
The project team will catalyze key partners and stakeholders to establish a DER solution that is constructible, financeable, and replicable, within Rocky Mountain Institute’s (RMI’s) REALIZE initiative framework and conforming with HUD’s RAD program requirements. The project will develop: 1) construction details and pricing for a DER scope of work, applicable for mid-rise multifamily buildings in cold climates; 2) design, construction, and finance guidelines for developers seeking to perform occupied DERs; 3) improved understanding of non-energy benefits of DERs that could unlock new financial sources; 4) efficient building system operation protocols for building staff and residents; and 5) DER scale-up plan for a portion of Winn’s public housing building portfolio.
Project Impact
This project initially targets buildings eligible for HUD RAD conversions (about 355,000), to achieve 75% EUI reduction during scheduled housing rehab projects. If successful, it is also hoped the model can be replicated in other public housing programs (e.g., Low Income Housing Tax Credit or LIHTC) or through normal private-sector housing market renovation and rehabilitation projects.
Contacts
DOE Technology Manager: Eric Werling, [email protected]
Lead Performer: Christina McPike, Open Market ESCO LLC