LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT GREEN
ENERGY STAR
GREEN FUTURE
SUNLIT
GREEN BUILDING FOR SPECIAL NEEDS PROJECTS
SUBMETERING TO SAVE ENERGY
CHOICE
HOME EXPRESS
LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT GREEN
NJHMFA administers the Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit – Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP). ENERGY STAR certification has been a threshold requirement in the QAP since 2003; creating buildings that are 15 – 30% more energy efficient than similar buildings. This saves owners money from the beginning, by reducing operating expenses. In 2006 alone, this threshold in the QAP resulted in 23 development projects and a total of 1,298 units that will be ENERGY STAR certified. This is transforming the affordable housing market, and has helped bring the ENERGY STAR program to the attention of developers across the state. As a result of these efforts, the program was awarded the 2006 U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR award for Excellence in Affordable Housing. In 2007, this program funded 17 projects and a total of 1,389 units.
In 2006, a Green Point category was added to the QAP, which awarded one point for either installing a solar photovoltaic system or for participating in the state’s Affordable Green program, now called the Green Future program. In 2007, another category was added as an option for the Green Point – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
Installing a renewable energy system for the common areas of affordable housing developments again reduces operation costs and leads to maintaining affordable rents for the tenants. Green Future consists of a list of basic green building items that cover energy efficiency, renewable resources, siting & land use, water conservation, building durability, indoor air quality, and operations & maintenance. Beyond energy savings and generation, the Green Future program works to create pleasant and healthy interiors for the residents. Projects are reviewed in-house for Green Future items. LEED certification is available to projects that would like to earn the name recognition associated with the U.S. Green Building Council and/or are required to complete LEED items for other funding sources. We recommend that only those experienced in green building select the LEED point option.
Related Documents:
ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR certification has become a requirement for many NJHMFA programs. We have developed the ‘Guide to NJHMFA ENERGY STAR Requirements’ as a resource that outlines the steps and checkpoints needed to comply with this requirement as well as provide new program options and guidelines for those development projects that do not fit in the EPA or NJ ENERGY STAR Homes program. This document is available for reference by anyone looking into ENERGY STAR requirements.
Related Documents:
GREEN FUTURE
The NJHMFA Green Future program was developed as a point option within the LIHTC Qualified Allocation Plan. Green Future consists of a list of basic green building items that were selected for their minimal impact on project cost if designed in from the beginning; importance as a policy decision; and for maximum impact. These items cover siting & land use, building durability, energy efficiency, resource efficiency, water conservation, operations & maintenance and indoor air quality. The Green Homes Office now provides training on this program at the bi-annual NJHMFA Tax Credit Seminar.
Green Future has evolved to become a unifying tool for green building requirements within the Special Needs Housing Trust Fund and the Home Express program. The ‘Green Future Guidelines: A Developer’s Reference’ and its associated reference materials are provided within this site and updated each year with new clarifying material. Anyone interested in utilizing Green Future as a green construction definition guide should contact the Green Homes Office to be a part of the continual development of this tool.
Related Documents:
SUNLIT
The NJHMFA has developed a program in conjunction with the NJ Clean Energy Program (in the BPU Office of Clean Energy) which supports solar installations for multi-family affordable housing, the first of its kind in the country. This program utilizes equity generated from Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, HMFA financing and solar rebates to make it financially and logistically feasible to install solar in these projects and cover some of their common area loads. The solar rebates come from a set-aside within the NJ Clean Energy Program’s Customer On-Site Renewable Energy (CORE) program.
We already have a number of projects underway and look forward to the opportunity to work with you.
- Six (6) projects totaling 190.38 kW, utilizing $903,224.70 in rebates, and serving the common areas of 168 affordable housing units were approved by NJHMFA and the BPU OCE CORE program in 2006.
- In 2007, nineteen (19) projects totaling 505.65 kW, utilizing $2,099,572.75 in rebates, and serving the common areas of 1,593 affordable housing units have been approved by NJHMFA and the BPU OCE CORE program.
Please review the 2008 SUNLIT program document for eligibility, process, and application.
Related Documents:
GREEN BUILDING FOR SPECIAL NEEDS PROJECTS
The Special Needs Housing Trust Fund (SNHTF) provides capital financing to create permanent supportive housing and community residences for individuals with special needs. The SNHTF Guidelines identify a set of priority considerations for projects seeking funding. One of these priorities is that projects demonstrate good and appropriate design. The guidelines prioritize funding projects ‘that are accepted by the community, have reduced operating and maintenance costs and provide for a healthier environment for residents.’
There are three categories for the design criteria, one of which is Sustainability. The Sustainability guidelines are a part of the Green Future program – review the Green Future Guidelines for items that apply to the SNHTF.
For more information call: 609.278.7603
SUBMETERING TO SAVE ENERGY
HMFA has created a Submetering Pilot Program with the BPU that converts HMFA-financed master-meter projects to sub-metering. The sub-metering units measure electric and/or gas use in individual apartments; making residents more aware of their utility costs. The program promotes energy savings by removing utility costs from the rent and placing the costs on the end user, which, in turn can reduce operating budgets and ultimately minimize rent increases. This new program will create incentives for conservation and reduce overall consumption by up to 30 percent.
For more information contact:
Anthony Cupano
Director, Property Management
TEL: 609.278.7485
EMAIL: acupano@njhmfa.state.nj.us
CHOICE
The Choices in Home Ownership Incentive Created for Everyone (CHOICE) Program supports the construction or rehab of single-family homes. The CHOICE Program is designed to provide home ownership opporunitites for low, moderate, market, and emerging market units – through low interest financing and subsidies. It now requires all units to be ENERGY STAR certified. NJHMFA’s Board of Directors recently allocated $10 million of CHOICE Subsidy for the CHOICE program.
For more information contact:
Joyce Earley
Supervisor of Single Family Construction Loan Programs
TEL: 609.278.7550
EMAIL: jearley@njhmfa.state.nj.us
HOME EXPRESS
On July 2, 2007, amendments to the NJ DCA Balanced Housing program rules were adopted that affect Balanced Housing and Home Express funding and design requirements. One of the changes includes green building requirements, outlined in Appendix M of the Balanced Housing Rules. Home Express is a portion of Balanced Housing funds administered through the NJHMFA. We review for the green building items and other design requirements found within the Balanced Housing Rules. The Balanced Housing green requirements have been integrated into the Green Future program mentioned within this website. Please review the document below.
Related Documents:
|
