Valuing Energy Efficiency in Multifamily Housing: Continental Plaza

Continental Plaza is a 1950s building that provides 164 affordable, one-bedroom apartments for seniors. To fulfill the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge, Hispanic Housing Development Corporation formed Affordable Community Energy, a unique mission-driven energy services company model. Through lighting, HVAC, solar photovoltaic, combined heat and power, and water conservation upgrades, ACE helped Continental Plaza reduce its 2014 utility costs by over $47,000. Retrofit measures resulted in over $784,000 in potential added property value.