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Date: 10/6/2023
NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton Housing Authority has been awarded over $3 million in grants for energy efficiency improvements to their Walter Salvo House and Cahill Apartments, according to a late September announcement.
The announcement stated the Walter Salvo House, which is one of 13 properties under the housing authority, received over $2.8 million of the $3 million for the installation of the mini-splits within the 192 units of the property.
Cara Leiper, the executive director of the NHA, said the mini-splits were necessary because the building is old and currently only uses fossil fuels. The shift to mini-splits is more eco-conscious and reduces environmental impact.
“A mini-split essentially replaces the system, and provides not only heat, which will have an energy and cost saving for the agency, but it will also provide air conditioning to each unit,” Leiper said. “Whereas, right now, they don’t have agency-provided air conditioning.”
As for the other part of the grant, Leiper said that $551,580 will be used to cover costs of a recent replacement of the boilers and hot water heaters on the property, which consists of 64 units.
The grant money came from the Low-Income Multi-Family Retrofit Program and MassSave. The grants are part of the Low-Income Energy Affordability Network, according to the announcement.
Leiper added that the NHA applied for the grant program back in April, but she said there are hopes to secure more money through the program in the near future. For example, the NHA recently completed a property-wide inspection of all the refrigerators in hopes of getting some refrigerators replaced through the same grant program.
“What we will also be doing at some point is applying for the other properties,” Leiper said. “Where we can, we’ll apply further.”
According to Leiper, both the Salvo House and Cahill Apartments consist of housing for disabled and elderly people.
“I am delighted to hear about the recent grants awarded to the Northampton Housing Authority,” said Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra in a statement. “This support signifies a significant step towards realizing the city’s climate objectives and I thank the Northampton Housing Authority for working towards this priority, and I am particularly glad that these improvements will directly benefit residents.”
Leiper commended Marilyn Richards, who serves on the board for the NHA, for suggesting that the NHA apply for this program.
“Had Commissioner Richards not suggested [the program], I wouldn’t have filled out the application,” Leiper said.
Currently, the NHA serves the community with 619 physical units of both state and federally-funded public housing. This program currently serves 855 people of which, 183 children, 297 disabled individuals and 366 elderly individuals.
According to Leiper, the Walter Salvo House features 106 residents who are disabled and 156 elderly residents. The Cahill Apartments, meanwhile, features 36 residents who are disabled and 51 who are elderly.