Transcript:
In the small city of Rome, New York, a seven-story apartment building called Colonial 2 has been housing low-income seniors for decades.
Just a few years ago, it was in dire need of updates.
But a recent renovation has transformed the building into some of the most climate-friendly affordable housing in the state.
It has highly insulated walls and windows. It’s heated and cooled by geothermal heat pumps, and its electricity comes from solar.
Wisse: “And some of that is coming from on-site solar PV production. Some of it is coming from … community solar. But the goal is to offset all of the electricity used throughout the year for the building.”
That’s Ashley Wisse of New Ecology. The nonprofit consulted on the renovation with the Rome housing authority and Beacon Communities, the real estate firm.
She says across the country, many old apartment buildings are in need of updates.
Wisse: “And so if we can start there and reduce those buildings’ energy usage and carbon intensity, that will help the decarbonization of the building industry overall much greater than new construction.”
So she says this project provides an example of how to give old housing a new lease on life.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
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