Applications for a national funding round of Green Communities Grants are now being accepted. Applications are due by April 11 and awards are expected to be made by the end of June. More information:

Enterprise and its partners have updated the Green Communities Criteria. The Criteria incorporate design elements for siting in smart locations, conserving natural resources and promoting healthy living environments. They define the minimum requirements for Green Communities' projects and are used to determine eligibility for Enterprise grant, loan and tax credit equity resources. More information:

The New York Division of Housing and Community Renewal announced it will require comprehensive environmental criteria for all affordable housing developments receiving federal and state tax credit funding. This policy will drive the development of hundreds of millions of dollars of green affordable housing throughout New York. Enterprise worked closely with the agency to create its new policy, which is substantially similar to the Green Communities Criteria.

The policy aligns affordable housing investment strategies with environmentally-responsible building practices. It will encourage smart growth and energy efficiency, while also helping us achieve our goals: lowering energy consumption by 15 percent by 2015; preserving and rehabilitating affordable housing; and revitalizing upstate communities. These new guidelines will play a critical role in ensuring that New York’s affordable housing stock is one of the best in the nation. Read more.

The St. George Hotel in Los Angeles, which provides housing and services to the formerly homeless in a restored historic hotel, received the first solar electric system installation for a low-income, multi-unit building on the West Coast. The St George’s 48 solar panels are expected to provide a savings of about $2,000 in utility expenses to Skid Row Housing Trust, the operator of the St. George. The project also receives $30,000 in rebates through the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s solar rebate program, which will be put back into the program to fund future solar installations.

The solar installation was made possible through the Solar Neighbors program created by Enterprise Community Partners Trustee Edward Norton and BP Solar to benefit low-income families with reduced utility expenses and improve the environment with clean solar power. The St. George installation was a match for a purchase by the actor Will Ferrell.

A new report by Reconnecting America and the National Housing Trust, Preserving Opportunities: Saving Affordable Homes Near Transit, illustrates the importance of preserving affordable housing, especially when it is in locations well served by public transit. The report identifies about 100,000 units within one-half mile of fixed-transit in the eight cities analyzed in this new report: Boston, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Cleveland, St Louis and Denver. Nearly two-thirds of the units may convert to market rate rents by 2012, according to the report. Read more (PDF 6MB).

Randolph Place Apartments, a senior housing complex located in an historic school building in Richmond, Va., recently received a green make over. Featured on the National Register of Historic Places, the complex qualified for both federal and state historic tax credits in addition to federal low-income housing tax credits. The school was originally redeveloped into senior housing in 1985 – with some of the original students now residents. The 50-apartment complex is located one mile west of downtown Richmond in a developing area known as the Near West Planning District. The area also includes the historic Fan District and is close to several services, transit, a park and a community center. The three-story building has an adjacent community center that opens up to a six-acre public park with recreational facilities and open spaces for residents and their families. Sidewalks throughout the site also provide access to public bus transit and walking paths. The rehabilitation included a new roof, storm windows, kitchen cabinets, floors and appliances, bathroom and plumbing fixtures, fire safety sprinklers, HVAC air handlers and water heaters. Read more (PDF, 498K).

Program to Help Finance Affordable Housing in Atlanta from the Atlanta Journal Constitution (PDF, 14K).

Work Begins on Affordable Housing Project from the Denver Post (PDF, 19K).