October 27, 2023
Affordable Homes & Communities (AHC) is receiving a $10 million award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The funding is part of HUD’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, and it allows AHC to expand the planned renovation work at Lansdowne Gardens apartments and substantially improve energy and water efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and move the community to net-zero energy and emissions.
“This important funding significantly augments our existing renovation plans and helps us directly improve the lives of our residents,” said AHC President & CEO Paul Bernard. “We’ll be able to lower costs to residents, expand renewable energy generation and storage at the community, and reduce exposure to health risks associated with natural gas.”
About Lansdowne Gardens
Lansdowne Gardens is a 10.6-acre community in southwest Baltimore County that receives HUD-funded rental assistance to help serve very low-income households. The community has 14 two-story garden-style apartment buildings built in 1976.
The buildings have 167 apartments, with 10 accessible to people with disabilities. Ninety percent of the apartments are for households earning less than 50% of the Area Median income (AMI), and the remaining apartments serve households with very low incomes (less than 30% of AMI).
AHC acquired Lansdowne Gardens in 2004 and completed a substantial renovation to the property in 2006. Except for two buildings that experienced significant fires in 2013 and 2016, the remaining buildings haven’t been renovated since 2006.
Project Details
The $10 million in HUD funding gives a significant boost to the renovation project, estimated at $30.3 million. The funding ensures the following improvements are included:
removing natural gas service and transitioning to 100% electrification with extensive improvements to the electrical infrastructure – changes that result in limiting carbon emissions, which can have detrimental health impacts
generating and storing renewable energy via solar systems
increasing insulation, sealing air leakage pathways, and insulating water heaters
replacing common area gas-fired water heaters with Energy Star®-certified electric water heaters
replacing heating and cooling systems with energy-efficient alternatives
using low-VOC paints
upgrading landscaping with the installation of 100% native species
Media Contact: Jennifer K. Smith, Director of Communications, jennifer.smith@ahcinc.org,
703-486-0626 x1118