HUD may rescind over a billion dollars earmarked for green building upgrades.
$1.4 billion of funding is in limbo amidst federal clawbacks to a program providing support for green building retrofits to affordable housing developments. As a result, renovations to the buildings have been halted, as the risk of losing Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) financing puts the complex web of funding required for most affordable housing upgrades in jeopardy.
“Financing affordable housing developments usually involves a complex capital stack, since providers don’t have the luxury of raising rents to cover their costs. Grants and loans under HUD’S retrofit program helped to close financing gaps for upgrades that otherwise wouldn’t be feasible,” reports Bloomberg.
Bloomberg reports that while the Green and Resilient Retrofit program has not yet been cancelled, any project that hasn’t closed their transaction with HUD is at risk. That encompasses most of the projects funded by the program.
The article gives several examples from the ground of renovation projects stalled, including asbestos removal, insulation improvements, and energy efficiency upgrades.
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