Unfortunately, most affordable and workforce housing developers use “first cost” as a metric for evaluating the feasibility of a project. They focus on construction cost reductions in an effort to close sources/uses gaps for their deals. Lower construction cost normally means less energy efficiency.

My development team discovered that by spending a little more on carefully-selected components, we can increase energy efficiency and attract private capital to close our sources/uses gaps. By focusing on “sources” rather than “uses” of funds, we are able to make our projects pencil out, keeping them affordable AND energy-efficient.

From the piece:

“Local developers say efforts to combat climate change are valuable, but the new rules are costly, threatening their ability to help resolve the region’s housing shortage.”

A link to the piece is found here