On Monday, July 22nd 2024, Allston Brighton CDC (ABCDC) gathered with project partners to celebrate the funding announcement through the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to support the Deep Energy Retrofit (DER) of the Brian J. Honan (BJH) Apartments through their Low- and Moderate-Income Housing Decarbonization Grant Program.

BJH is a 100% affordable 50-unit multifamily property spread across nine town-home style buildings, that is home to 109 low-income residents. The DER at this property designed to meet the Passive House standard and will reduce energy usage by 62% and carbon emissions by 51%. This makes it one of the most green, sustainable, and climate-resilient affordable housing preservation projects in the City of Boston while simultaneously providing the residents with built-in air conditioning for the first time.

This building will be “wrapped” with a new high-performance thermal envelope and will have all existing gas-fired HVAC and domestic hot water systems replaced with new, all-electric systems. This rehab will not only drastically reduce energy usage at the property but will also improve the health and comfortability of all residents. This project is a part the 1,000 Apartment Challenge, a program of RMI, to dramatically reduce carbon emissions through DER throughout the Commonwealth. The goal is to have 1,000 multifamily apartment units in Massachusetts under renovation by the end of 2024.

“Housing is inherently an environmental issue,” said Caitlin Robillard, Director of Real Estate at ABCDC. “Given that buildings account for nearly 70% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Boston, the connection between housing and the environment cannot be overlooked. The DER at BJH further reinforces our commitment to decarbonizing our affordable housing portfolio and this would not be possible without programs like the Low- and Moderate-Income Housing Decarbonization Grant Program.”

The area around BJH has seen an enormous amount of private development in recent years, resulting in fear that low-income residents will be displaced. BJH represents an island of affordability in a quickly gentrifying area. This rehab underscores ABCDC’s commitment to affordability in perpetuity. All 50 of these apartments are deed restricted affordable and will remain so, serving households earning up to and below 60% of Area Median Income (AMI).

“The Brian J. Honan Apartments rehab is of particular interest to me because when I first worked for ABCDC in the 2000s as the Director of Real Estate, I worked closely with funders and project partners to help create these 50 units of townhouse-style housing. It is exciting to see the property preserved and updated to today’s standards to not only protect the viability of the property, but also to ensure the quality of life and safety of all residents. I am grateful to DOER for this pivotal funding,” said John Woods, ABCDC’s Executive Director.

We would like to thank the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources for making these important resources available which will ensure that deeply affordable housing can provide high-quality homes to residents for generations to come.

We would also like to thank everyone who attended the event and reiterated their commitment towards affordable housing and climate resiliency including Secretary Rebecca Tepper (Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs), commissioner Elizabeth Mahony (Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources).