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The Reinvestment Fund receives $8 million from Bank of America to finance energy efficient building retrofits
Creating jobs, reducing utility costs and carbon emissions for low-income communities
November 17, 2011
Philadelphia, PA— The Reinvestment Fund (TRF) today announced that it has received an $8 million low-cost loan and operating grant from Bank of America to expand its energy efficiency financing program to retrofit and rehab commercial, nonprofit, government, mixed-use and multi-family buildings in the Philadelphia and Baltimore metropolitan areas.
The award is especially significant for the Philadelphia metropolitan area, where TRF in partnership with the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, administers the EnergyWorks program for the City of Philadelphia and the Metropolitan Caucus. EnergyWorks is a comprehensive energy solutions program for commercial or industrial building owners.
“We are excited about these new private dollars to finance building energy projects in the Philadelphia metropolitan area,” said Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter. “The very successful EnergyWorks program continues to create jobs, provide financing for strategic, energy efficient investments, encourage private-public partnerships, and prepare the region for the 21st century.”
“This new low-cost, long-term capital from Bank of America will enable TRF to offer financing for projects that will increase energy efficiency as well as create and sustain jobs” said Don Hinkle-Brown, CEO of TRF. “We are proud to be part of Bank of America’s Energy Efficiency Finance Program, which will do more than financing — it will have a direct impact on creating sustainable communities.”
“There are numerous cost-effective opportunities to reduce energy waste, shrink utility costs and improve comfort in virtually every existing building,” said Tom Woodward, Pennsylvania president for Bank of America. “TRF is a tremendous partner in our region for developing innovative solutions to address barriers that have kept many property owners from financing important energy efficiency upgrades that will not only help save energy and money, but help create jobs in our community as these retrofits get underway.”
TRF is one of the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) selected to participate in Bank of America’s $55 million Energy Efficiency Finance Program announced last spring. The program will enable CDFIs to finance the upfront investment costs for building owners in low-income communities, bringing to scale innovative, local programs, providing energy efficient retrofits or improvements to buildings, contributing to local job creation and reducing overall energy usage. It also will reduce the carbon emissions from these residential and commercial buildings, which account for nearly 40 percent of all primary energy consumption in the United States. The energy cost savings realized over time will create cash flow to repay the loan.
TRF will use the new capital to provide low-interest loans for energy conservation and efficiency improvements to a wide range of building projects, many of which will also include funding through EnergyWorks. An example of one such project is the Ambler Boiler House, a dramatic project that is bringing a 120-year old industrial power plant back to life as 42,000 square feet of office space. Located in the Philadelphia area, the project expects to qualify for LEED Gold certification and its energy consumption will be 44% lower than a typical office building in the mid-Atlantic region. Among the building’s many energy features will be a daylighting system to reduce the use of artificial lighting and a solar photovoltaic system will help offset the building’s electricity consumption.
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About TRF
TRF is a leading innovator in the financing of neighborhood and economic revitalization. Central to its mission is a commitment to put capital and private initiative to work for the public good. TRF manages almost $670 million in capital and has made over $1 billion in community investments, financing over 2,500 projects since its inception in 1985. In pursuit of its mission, TRF finances homes, community facilities, schools, commercial real estate, businesses and sustainable energy projects using loan, equity and other financing tools. It supports its financing with a strong research and policy analysis capacity that has become a highly regarded source of unbiased information for public officials and private investors. TRF’s analytical strength is also reflected in its national online data analysis and mapping tool that is available for all internet users at www.policymap.com. The tool offers thousands of data indicators to help users understand a place, compare places or track investments in a place. To learn more about TRF, visit www.trfund.com.
About EnergyWorks
EnergyWorks is a comprehensive energy solutions program for home and commercial or industrial building owners. EnergyWorks experts help owners find ways to reduce their building’s energy use, and EnergyWorks’ low-interest loans help them pay for the upgrade.
EnergyWorks is a program of the Metropolitan Caucus, a coalition of Commissioners and Councilmembers from Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties and the Mayor of Philadelphia. It is supported by a grant from the US Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Program. More information on EnergyWorks is available at www.EnergyWorksNow.com