PROVIDENCE, RI – The 11-story Pocasset Manor in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence, which offers 82 affordable apartments for seniors and disabled individuals, is slated for some new money-saving and eco-friendly upgrades thanks to a $302,106 federal grant advanced by Senator Reed. 

The federal funds are being awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP), which is based on U.S. Senator Jack Reed’s bipartisan Green Retrofits Act.  The nonprofit owner/developer Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) will use the federal funds to finance energy efficiency and climate resilience renovations for improved air quality and HVAC upgrades at Pocasset Manor.

Funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (PL 117-169), which Senator Reed helped pass and President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022, the GRRP offers grants and direct loans for affordable housing projects to use zero-emission electricity methods, improve energy and water efficiency, and make homes more weatherproof in the face of climate change.  In addition to the $302,000 awarded to Rhode Island, HUD selected 40 other recipients around the country for this round of GRPP funding.

The law Reed helped pass authorized $837.5 million in federal grants and up to $4 billion in loans to make low-income, multi-family housing more energy and water efficient by installing better insulation, restoring building facades, installing roof top solar panels and more.  So far, HUD has awarded nearly $400 million in funds as well as $379.7 million in loans since launching GRRP.

“This is good news for the residents of Pocasset Manor and taxpayers alike because it supports improvements that will reduce utility costs and enhance living conditions while contributing to the state’s broader environmental sustainability goals, said Senator Reed.  “POAH is making good use of the funds: reducing our carbon footprint, lowering energy costs, and extending the life of the property and preserving its affordability.  We’ve got to ensure Rhode Islanders at all income levels have access to a quality, safe, and affordable place to live.  I commend POAH for successfully applying for these funds and I will continue working to help increase the supply of affordable housing options and preserve and rehabilitate our affordable stock in a responsible, sustainable manner.”

“We greatly appreciate the support and leadership of Senator Reed and the Biden-Harris Administration for making these critical resources available to preserve and enhance affordable housing in Providence,” said Aaron Gornstein, President and CEO of POAH.  “This fall, we look forward to starting comprehensive renovations of Pocasset Manor, Hillside Village, and Hillcrest Village, in partnership with Rhode Island Housing and HUD.”

The Green and Resilient Retrofit Program awards three categories of grants in the Elements, Leading Edge and Comprehensive categories. 

Elements awards, like the one granted to POAH, provide federal funding to incorporate proven and impactful climate resilience and carbon reduction measures to the construction scopes of an in-progress recapitalization transactions. Property owners use the funds to add green or resilient elements to existing scopes of property rehabilitation.

Leading Edge awards provide funding for property owners to meet ambitious carbon reduction, renewable energy generation, and resilience goals without requiring extensive technical assistance from HUD.

Comprehensive awards provide funding for properties with the highest need for climate resilience and energy efficiency upgrades to undertake a deep retrofit, focused on innovative energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions reductions, green and healthy housing measures, renewable energy generation, and climate resilience investments. Comprehensive Awards are designed for the widest range of properties and are accompanied by direct support from HUD to achieve the retrofit.

The Elements scope of work at Pocasset Manor will include Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) on the first floor and a CO2 based electric air source heat pump of the hot water system.  The new VRF system will serve the community room, management offices, and first floor spaces and displace heating loads from the site’s oil-fired heating system reducing local carbon emissions in the process.  Also, the domestic hot water system planned for installation will reduce significant oil use from the existing hot water heating plant fed by the oil heating boilers on site.  Decoupling the hot water production from these systems will enable the heating boilers to run more efficiently and at lower temperatures, while the CO2 refrigerant based air source heat pump hot water heaters will efficiently manage the building’s hot water demands. 

The three properties have now received federal GRRP financing to help with the energy efficiency elements of the larger renovations:

Pocasset Manor - $302,106 GRRP grant.

Hillside Village Apartments- $2,520,000 GRRP loan.

Hillcrest Village Apartments - $7,800,000 GRRP loan under the Leading Edge funding category. 

Recipients of these awards are required to commit to achieving recognized green certifications, such as PHIUS REVIVE or LEEDv4 Gold or Platinum, that will lead to significant property upgrades such as on-site solar, FORTFIED-rated roofing, and other substantial energy efficiency and climate resilience improvements.

POAH is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve, create and sustain affordable, healthy homes that support economic security, racial equity and access to opportunity for all. POAH owns and operates over 1,000 affordable apartments in Rhode Island.