HUD AWARDS OVER $300,000 TO TEST NEW ENERGY-SAVING APPROACHES IN A NEWARK MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

NEWARK - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded $325,732 to Jonathan Rose Companies to test new and innovative ways to cut energy bills, and to finance energy efficiency upgrades in existing multi-family residential properties. Today's announcement by HUD is part of nearly $23 million awarded to a dozen organizations nationwide on the cutting edge of bringing energy-saving solutions to the housing market. (A summary of the award is below.) The federal Energy Innovation Fund (EIF) grants are directly leveraging an additional $60 million nationwide in philanthropic, local and private capital.

"These grants are being awarded to a diverse collection of organizations that will help us find new ways to cut energy, save money and generate jobs!" said Acting Federal Housing Commissioner Carol Galante. "This is more than just 'going green,' it's about bringing real dollars and cents solutions to a sector of the market that is currently wasting money heating and cooling buildings, some of which were built more than a generation ago."

The goal of HUD's pilot program is to develop ideas and mechanisms that could potentially be replicated nationally, as well as help create industry standards in the home energy efficiency retrofit market. In addition, the pilot program will create public/private partnerships as a result of capital investments from private industries and create green jobs in construction, property management, and technical analysis (e.g. energy audits and building commissioning), including opportunities for low- income residents.

Jonathan Rose Companies, LLC (activity in Newark, NJ)
$325,732 (Applied Research Demonstration)

HUD EIF grant funds will be used to fund energy use monitoring along with tenant outreach and involvement at a large, elderly-only, Section 8 master-metered building in Newark, NJ. The program will evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches to energy management at this master-metered building. The building ownership expects to show that providing real-time, tenant-specific information on energy use, along with education and some modest incentives, will lead to awareness of energy use and reductions in energy use, even when tenants do not pay a utility bill. This approach helps address the long-standing "split incentive issue," and will demonstrate that utility metering and monitoring, along with information, education, and modest incentives can result in behavioral changes that significantly reduce utility consumption.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on Twitter at @HUDnews or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.