Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Sean Donovan and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino awarded a $6.7 million green building grant to an affordable housing development in Boston’s South End in order to retrofit the building with energy saving improvements.
The Castle Square development, a 500-unit, tenant-owned affordable housing complex built in the 1960s, is the largest affordable housing complex in the country to conduct such a retrofit. The project is being developed by Winn Development.
Yesterday at a tour of the site, Donovan said $14 billion came to HUD in the Recovery Act; almost a third of which will be used to make the nation’s public and assisted housing stock green. He hailed the Castle Square project as "part of a movement here in Boston that’s going to change fundamentally the way we renovate and rebuild not just affordable housing but all housing."
The Deep Energy Retrofit involves repairs and remodels of the building’s windows, walls and ventilation system. Among other improvements, the remodel will clad the exterior of the building in insulating panels which will enable it to achieve more contemporary look while increasing the building energy efficiency. Overall, the designers hope to reduce the building’s energy needs by 72 percent, with heating gas costs alone projected to decrease from $200,000 to $50,000, said Heather Clark, a green building consultant who has worked on the project for Winn.
"For all of us, this is our home, and having this energy benefit is really going to benefit our families here…we’re very happy the 21st century is coming to Castle Square," said Ann Moy, president of the board of directors for the complex’s tenant’s association.
"The ventilation system is huge here for the residents, especially those who have asthma," said Terrance Woolfork, a member of the tenant’s board and a resident at the building. "Also the energy efficiency is very huge. You can open up your electric bill and see the huge breaks, so especially during these times, you can’t ask for any more."
The HUD funds, part of the Recovery Act Green Retrofit Program passed as part of the stimulus bill, will help create 200 construction jobs.
