California launches pilot program to finance multifamily retrofits for energy efficiency
Building Design + Construction, February 17, 2015
The Obama Administration and the state of California are teaming with the Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation on a pilot program whose goal is to unlock Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing for multifamily housing.
PACE programs provide money to accelerate renewable energy and efficiency retrofits for energy and water in multifamily housing, with the intention of making that housing more affordable for low-income renters.
California Gov. Jerry Brown announced last month that his administration is creating a California Multifamily PACE program with MacArthur, which has committed at least $10 million in impact investments toward this program and other innovations it is exploring. U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro says his department will issue new guidance under which HUD can approve PACE financing on HUD-assisted and HUD insured housing in California. The U.S. Department of Energy is working with the state to assess the performance of this program.