Federal Resilience Program a Lifeline for Affordable Housing Providers

An obscure federal program known as the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) is helping nonprofit housing developers in Denver stay afloat by providing grants to support the renovation of affordable housing properties.

As Robert Davis explains in a piece for Next City, the little-known program, administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), was created by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and has paid out over $1.4 billion. “HUD-supported affordable housing providers can apply for up to $80,000 per unit in funding. The money must be used on upgrades that make the properties more resilient to climate hazards and improve residents’ quality of life.”

According to Michelle Diller, the senior program director for Building Resilient Futures at Enterprise Community Partners, “GRRP is the only HUD program to combine climate resiliency with green energy retrofits” and is “a forward-looking program that seeks to extend the lifetime of affordable housing units instead of simply repairing damages.” The program provides a key financial lifeline to offset rising operating costs for affordable housing providers and offers the chance to install retrofits that reduce future operating costs.