PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

July 17, 2024

Contact: Emma Balaguer | emma@libertysquaregroup.com

HUD Awards Preliminary $2.72 Million for Sustainable Improvements to Stamford’s Southwood Square Apartments

Stamford, CT – Beacon Communities, an industry leader in the development and management of affordable and mixed income multifamily housing, was awarded a preliminary $2.72M from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) to use towards sustainable improvements of Southwood Square Apartments in Stamford, CT.

Through this GRRP award, Beacon Communities will work with a consultant to identify energy improvements and electrification opportunities for the 56-unit Southwood Square Phase III. This award is Beacon’s second GRRP award: the May Building in Pittsburgh garnered $5M in funding through the program last year. Beacon has applied for an additional $11,920,000 on Southwood Square Phase I and hopes to hear on that award later this summer.

“We are thrilled that Southwood Square Phase III has received funding through the GRRP,” said Dara Kovel, CEO of Beacon Communities. “These resources will significantly enhance our efforts to improve the property and provide energy-efficient and resilient housing for our residents in Stamford, CT, and build upon Beacon’s existing sustainability work throughout our portfolio.”

Southwood Square has served the residents of Stamford for almost thirty years. In 1998, under HUD’s HOPE VI program, Beacon began a phased development to transform the former Southfield Village public housing project into a new mixed-income community. The 315-apartment Southwood Square features 235 affordable apartments and 80 market-rate apartments, has robust wellness and recreation centers, includes a community center that is home to and run by the Stamford Police Activities League, and is near downtown Stamford’s retail shops, restaurants, and schools.

“The Southwood Square housing development is an invaluable part of the Stamford community, ensuring that families of all sizes and income levels can afford a safe, comfortable home in our neighborhoods. I’m thrilled to see this GRRP grant, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act, help modernize the property’s existing infrastructure,” said Congressman Jim Himes. “Making our homes more efficient not only helps hardworking families save money on energy costs, but it increases the longevity of our urban environment while preserving our natural one.”

This GRRP award reflects Beacon Communities’ broader commitment to sustainability, energy efficiency, and housing preservation. Beacon has achieved significant sustainability milestones in recent years, including:

• Phius 2022 “Best multifamily” award for the Passive-House-certified Phase Three C of The Anne M. Lynch Homes at Old Colony in South Boston;
• comprehensive decarbonization and electrification of Colonial II Apartments in Rome, New York, making it New York’s first carbon-neutral public housing development;
• multiple funding awards (including awards from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities) to eliminate on-site fossil fuel use and dramatically reduce energy consumption at Treehouse at Easthampton Meadow, an affordable intergenerational community serving seniors and families adopting children who have experienced foster care;
• pledge to pursue carbon neutrality for all current and future projects in New York with support from NYSERDA’s Carbon Neutral Portfolio program.

Since the company’s inception, over 40 of its communities have received or are currently being built to LEED, National Green Building, Enterprise Green, Passive House, and similar construction sustainability standards.

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About Beacon Communities LLC 

Beacon Communities LLC is a privately owned real estate firm that develops, acquires, invests in, and manages a wide range of multi-family housing. Their portfolio includes affordable housing, market-rate housing and mixed income-housing. Their developments range from new construction, to historic adaptive reuse, to the renovation of existing housing. They take on challenging developments and make them succeed. Their driving passion is to create well-designed, healthy homes that enhance the neighborhoods in which they are located. For more information about Beacon Communities LLC please visit www.beaconcommunitiesllc.com.