Case Studies
First Phius Multifamily Building to Open in Plymouth County, MA
The McElwain Grammar School, located in Bridgewater, MA opened its doors in 1912 and served as a public school until 1997. The McElwain School building itself was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. However, the school and site still sat vacant for over 20 years. In 2018, the building and site were purchased by Capstone Communities and MPZ Development to be converted and further developed into a multifamily, mixed-income housing complex; many of the school and site’s historical architecture features remain on-site today.
The first LEED Neighborhood Development (ND) certified mixed-income neighborhood in Connecticut
Washington Village was a public housing development in South Norwalk, Connecticut, originally built in 1941. By 2016, Washington Village had reached the end of its useful life, and needed extensive updates and repairs to meet modern construction standards, code requirements, and other needs. Additionally, parts of the development were located below the 100-year floodplain. Portions of the property would experience minor flooding from the nearby Norwalk Harbor, and major flooding and damage occurred during Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012, with up to fifteen inches of water seeping into the first-floor units. To address the modernization issues and mitigate flooding, the only viable solution was to demolish the existing structures and construct a new community elevated above the floodplain.
Deep Energy Retrofit Decarbonization Planning
The Treehouse at Easthampton Meadow (Treehouse) is an intentional, intergenerational community that integrates family housing for households who have adopted children out of the foster system with households aged 55+ who agree to mentor the children. Originally built in 2006, the development is approaching a tax-credit supported refinance process that will enable retrofit/improvement of the buildings. New Ecology worked with the project design team to develop a data-driven deep energy retrofit scope of work for the property that maximizes energy and carbon emissions reductions, eliminates fossil fuel consumption, improves resident comfort and indoor air quality, and works within the financial limitations of the retrofit project budget and available operating resources.
Zero Over Time Decarbonization Planning
Nonantum Village is an apartment building in Newton, Massachusetts for low-income elders. Built in 2004 with support of the HUD Section 202 Elderly Supportive Housing program, the 23,953 square foot building includes 35 one-bedroom, fully handicapped accessible units that allow residents to age in place comfortably and in community.
New Ecology, Inc. worked with the owner’s design/build team to develop a financially feasible building decarbonization plan that aligned the near-term capital improvements with targeted upgrades to be accomplished over the next 10 years to fully transition the building off fossil fuel, improve energy efficiency and maintain operating affordability.
Carrington Way is an affordable, 165-unit multifamily apartment complex located in Newark, Delaware. By 2020, the nearly 50 year-old development was showing its age and in desperate need of some energy efficient upgrades. The owner, Capital Realty Group, enrolled the complex in the Energize Delaware Affordable Multifamily Housing Program, an initiative of the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility (DESEU). Their goal was to identify cost-effective energy and water efficiency upgrades and evaluate feasible renewable and clean energy systems, while reducing maintenance requirements.
Our Lady of Grace Apartments is a new construction project composed of 60 affordable apartments in 12 townhome-style buildings and a community building, which is located in Newark, Delaware. The owner enrolled the property in the Energize Delaware Affordable Multifamily Housing Program, which enabled New Ecology, Inc. to provide design support and testing and verification through construction to achieve ENERGY STAR certification and enhance the property’s energy performance and durability while reducing the utility costs for the owner and residents.
The first Phius certified affordable, multi-family development in Massachusetts.
Finch Cambridge is an exciting, newly-constructed 98-unit affordable housing apartment building located in Cambridge, MA. It is owned by Homeowner’s Rehab, Inc. (HRI), a non-profit owner and developer supporting diverse communities by developing and preserving affordable, high-quality housing. The team began the project with a lofty goal—design and construct a new, affordable housing development in Cambridge, that is both climate hazard resilient and meets the highest energy efficiency standard possible. Raising the bar even higher, HRI later decided to pursue full Passive House certification under the PHIUS+ 2015 rating system. In the end, the final project cost was only 1.4% above the original estimate for the non-Passive House design baseline, and represented a cost savings after rebates and incentives were factored in.
Affordable and public housing has deferred capital needs, limited operating resources, many-layered regulatory requirements, and low-income income residents whose vulnerability is compounded by climate-related risks. Through this project our team developed readily-deployable climate resilience tools to enable DHCD to direct capital funds and provide capacity building to local housing authorities to mitigate climate change vulnerabilities for the 80,000 residents living in DHCD-supported, locally-managed housing.
Full Retrofit of an Outdated Senior Housing Complex
Plaza on the Green is a 157-unit senior housing complex located in Waterbury, CT. In 2014 New Ecology (NEI) conducted an ASHRAE Level II audit on the property for SHP Management Corp., which was then updated in 2017 with another site visit and analysis of updated utility usage. From these visits, NEI produced a detailed report with recommendations for energy conservation and operating cost savings. NEI additionally prepared bid documents for a design/ build renovation, which included a proposed electric to gas heating and hot water conversion, as well as lighting and water efficiency upgrades.
Risk Analysis and Resiliency Assessment of the Delaware state-assisted affordable housing portfolio
In 2019, New Ecology, Inc. (NEI) was selected by the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) to conduct a first-in-the-nation, comprehensive Risk Analysis and Resiliency Assessment of the state-assisted affordable housing portfolio of 215 funded properties. NEI partnered with Linnean Solutions to provide complementary skills and capabilities.
Energy & Water Savings through the Auditing Process
808-812 Memorial Drive, owned by Homeowner’s Rehab Inc. (HRI) and located along the Charles River in Cambridge, provides affordable housing to over 450 low income residents. The building is aged and in need of significant capital upgrades to ensure its physical and financial viability in the years to come.
Why Resilience?
Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme storms, exacerbating flooding, shifting precipitation patterns, and causing more heat waves throughout the United States and around the world. These climate change-related conditions disproportionately impact low-income communities. Owners and operators of affordable multifamily housing are positioned to help mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on their residents while protecting their building investments through successful resilience planning.
Through funding from the District of Columbia’s Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) Solar for All program, New Ecology, Inc. (NEI) joined Enterprise Community Partners, the National Housing Trust and Clean Energy Group to develop a vulnerability and resilience opportunity assessment tool for affordable housing owners to promote sustainability and resilience in their properties. The project advances the goals of Climate Ready DC, a project led by Kleinfelder, and DC’s plan to prepare for the impacts of climate change including heatwaves, flooding, and severe storms.
Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme storms, exacerbating flooding, shifting precipitation patterns, and causing more extreme heat waves throughout the United States and around the world. Climate change-related incidents disproportionately affect individuals least able to cope with extreme events. Residents of affordable multifamily housing stand to gain the most in terms of the tangible and intangible benefits of resilience planning. Owners and operators of affordable multifamily housing can realize long-term operating and avoided impact cost savings, increased durability, and improved emergency operations through resilience planning.
Passive House Inspired Affordable Housing deep retrofit of a former public housing development and adjacent vacant land
Fairfax Gardens, built in 1951, was an isolated, 150-unit barracks-style public housing development in the middle of a low-density, single-family neighborhood in Taunton, MA. Due to limited operational resources over the years, the development’s infrastructure, utilities, and many building components were in poor condition and in need of complete replacement. The buildings were neither energy efficient nor accessible, the units were cramped and much smaller than current space standards dictate, and mold, pests, and deteriorated finishes were problems throughout. The distressed conditions at Fairfax Gardens not only negatively impacted residents’ health and quality of life, it also brought down the property values of nearby homes.
Margaret-Bennett Homes was built in the 1780s, and was last renovated in 1999. It provides 30 rooms for formerly homeless women. Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development selected New Ecology to provide auditing and project management for the Customer Investment Fund—MF Housing Energy Efficiency Retrofit pilot.
Bellevieu-Manchester Apartments was built in 1906, was last renovated in 1995 and has 48 affordable apartments for seniors. Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development selected New Ecology to provide auditing and project management for the Customer Investment Fund—MF Housing Energy Efficiency Retrofit pilot.
Windsor Valley I and II comprise 290 affordable, occupied townhouses in Edgewood, Maryland. New Ecology conducted an ASHRAE II energy audit for the property, resulting in energy and water efficiency recommendations. NEI facilitated an integrated design process for the project and conducted a detailed review of the design development set of plans and specifications for air sealing details and had engineering recommendations for new equipment.
Liberty Court Apartments consists of 100 affordable, newly constructed apartments on existing slabs in Dover, Delaware. The Delaware State Housing Authority selected New Ecology through a competitive RFP to provide technical assistance during design and construction of this state-owned public housing development being creatively financed with tax credits through a newly-formed LLC.
New Ecology provided a detailed written review of the design development set of plans and specifications for high- performance and Energy Star requirements.
U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings Challenge SHOWCASE PROJECT
Built in 1940, the Old Colony public housing development in South Boston was the Boston Housing Authority’s (BHA) largest property, and one of the most distressed with aging infrastructure and high energy consumption. After years of collaboration with residents, BHA hired Beacon Communities to redevelop the site. Beacon and BHA redeveloped the property into The Anne M. Lynch Homes at Old Colony, which provides deeply affordable housing in extremely energy-efficient buildings. Beacon has a long-term ground lease from BHA and operates the property as part of a public-private partnership with BHA.
Redevelopment of a historic firehouse into a community music center
Zumix is a non-profit cultural organization that provides free after school and summer enrichment programs for youth in the Greater Boston area. In May of 2005, Zumix was awarded the rights to renovate the former Engine Company 40 Firehouse at 260 Summer Street in East Boston, a 9000 SF building, into a state of the art music center. New Ecology, Inc. (NEI) served as the primary owner’s representative and green consultant on the project. After 3.5 years of fundraising, and a year of construction, Zumix moved into the Firehouse in January 2010.