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WHAT'S NEW? CPM Promises 296 More Units of Green Affordable Housing by November 2013 Wednesday, May 16, 2012
CPM Housing Group has responded to the Delaware Valley Green Building Council’s 2013 Challenge by announcing plans to deliver 296 units of green and affordable housing over the next 17 months. As the owner/operator of more than 2000 units of affordable and special needs housing in Philadelphia and Washington DC, the CPM Housing Group recognizes the impact that sustainable building practices can have on its residents and the ripple effects in the surrounding communities. “Green buildings are a winning proposition for everyone involved,” said CPM’s Director of Construction, David Hahn. “The residents enjoy lower utility bills and better indoor environments. The community benefits from the extra discretionary income that can be spent at local businesses, not to mention the sense of place and neighborhood is preserved when we reuse and retrofit existing housing stock and historic buildings. There is less construction debris, and less impact on the environment.” CPM’s corporate commitment to green building dates back to 2008 and is born out of a deep respect for our tenants. The majority of them are low-income individuals, and many are living with special needs, such as a mental health diagnosis or a physical disability. Most of them would not typically have access to high quality, energy efficient homes like this otherwise. Currently, CPM’s portfolio includes 305 green affordable units in 51 LEED certified buildings and 59 Enterprise Green Communities buildings. More information on these properties can be found in CPM’s Portfolio pages. About the 2013 Challenge The Delaware Valley Green Building Council’s 2013 Challenge was developed to highlight the sustainable initiatives underway throughout the Delaware Valley as a prelude to the city’s center-stage position as the host of the 2013 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo in November of 2013. Labels: green buildings, LEED® Resident Survey Returns High Satisfaction Rates Thursday, May 03, 2012
A recent survey of CPM tenants finds most are quite pleased with CPM's Property Management services. Here are the results: 
Survey results were collected from July through December of 2011 during CPM’s Recertification process. Participation in the survey was voluntary. Labels: residents 56th & Walnut Construction Updates Saturday, April 28, 2012
Construction is well underway on the preservation of 32 units of affordable housing in the heart of West Philadelphia. This project involves the substantial rehabilitation of 6 adjacent buildings, along with the additions of a common room, laundry facility, management office and additional handicap accessibility features. The project is designed to meet Enterprise Green Communities Criteria and registered under the LEED® for Homes™ Program. Construction is expected to finish in February of 2013.
Here are some photo updates from the past few months:
Labels: LEED®, LIHTC, North Philadelphia, preservation, rehabilitation MPB School Preservation Project Receives LIHTC Allocation Saturday, April 14, 2012
 The equity generated from the credits will provide $8.3 Million to support the substantial rehabilitation of this historic parochial school building and provide much-needed affordable housing for working class families in this neighborhood. This historic building once housed the parochial school for the adjacent Most Precious Blood (MPB) Roman Catholic Church. The MPB School was renovated 20 years ago as a low income housing tax credit project. 1260 took it over in 2008 with the intent of preserving this affordable housing for low income families in this improving area of the city. It is anticipated that construction will be completed in late 2013. The rehabilitation work is designed to meet Enterprise Green Communities Criteria. Resolutions (one resident's thoughts on the new year) Friday, January 20, 2012
A hundred new years can come and go, and people will still be announcing that same old resolution over and over again. And it will never come into a true fruition until you have made up in your mind that you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. It all starts in the mind. As a great preacher once stated, we must go into change, head first…your mind has to be truly renewed to conquer the giants that life is going to throw at you. The Word! said the prodigal came to his senses. He found himself in the hog pens of life craving the very pods that the swine were eating. Life will have you stuck in some situations that you thought you’d never end up in. And until you change your old way of thinking, you will be doing things the same old way, getting the same old results, stuck! Back in the old year, talking about happy new year. Come on! Give me a break! ...change your mind! Yes my beloveds, we must truly come to our senses and change our minds on to the new. New wine must be put into new wine skins. Because otherwise if the new wine is put into old skins that are unwilling to stretch, it will burst therefore causing the new stuff to be wasted. Are you hearing me? Don’t go into the year 2012 with 2011’s problems. No! Change that mess. And that change must first start in the mind. Because it’s in your mind that the enemy launches his attack. And by only the grace of God, we can then begin to take control of our thinking and move head first, (somebody say, head first)… Pull yourself by your head and say, I’m coming out…I’m coming out…yeah, yeah… 2012 in itself is not the reason for the season that I’m coming out. No, not at all. The sole reason I’m coming out is because I’ve made up in my mind that I will indeed by the grace of God, my father, be a victor… I will win… I will marry… I will support my children… I will deny myself for the sake of another… I will give someone encouragement… I will be whatever He (God) wants me to be. And I say to that with all truthfulness… Happy New Year! in a new mind set…head first. Now that’s the true resolution.
- Bryant E. Culpepper, Sr. Labels: residents An Interview with CPM's First Tenant: Mary Horwitz Monday, December 05, 2011
 Today, I had the pleasure of sitting down to chat with CPM’s very first tenant, Mary Horwitz. She has just recently moved out of her cozy apartment in South Philadelphia due to health issues, but after 22 years of living there she had a lot of fond memories to share.“There were 17 steps to climb. There was a little balcony, and at the top of the steps there was a kitchen and my dining room table, and my living room was right there too... It was so spacious! Everybody who saw the apartment liked it. Everybody always complimented it. “And I felt safe there. I’ve had apartments where I didn’t feel safe, but I felt safe there. It was a good neighborhood. I had very nice neighbors. “I had never been to South Philly before I moved there, but I just loved it! The mummers lived on my block. They were the “Goodtimers”—a comic club. They march in the Mummers Parade every year. They are so much fun! We heard all the music and the banjos and everything. I loved to watch the parade go by every year. I let people sit on my front steps and I would watch out the windows. “My downstairs neighbor, Al, is still there. He’s a nice man. We never quarreled with each other; we just minded our own business. He would help me with little projects like setting up my answering machine. He still lives there, and he helped when it was time to move my stuff out of the apartment. “Those years went fast. 1260 and Columbus Property management were very good to me. I really appreciate the staff; they made sure I had a safe and comfortable place to live. Maintenance came in when I needed them, and of course they were efficient. They were smart men. They knew their job and they did a good job. My property manager Garry came around for inspections once or twice a year. My apartment was very nice; but it never failed: Garry would always find something he didn’t like in my refrigerator. I always checked the night before, and I couldn’t see anything to make a fuss about, but Garry always found something in there! Still, when it came time for Section 8 inspections, Columbus Property Management was “Johnny on the Spot.” They made sure the apartment was clean and neat and everything intact. “So, I lived my life and I was happy. You had to be independent and that was the part of getting an apartment. A lot of people didn’t work out, but I was one of the ones that did work out. I lived there by myself for 22 years. “I want the staff of CPM to know how much I appreciate their consideration and helping me feel safe and comfortable where I lived for 22 years.... But I don’t appreciate Garry O’Rourke finding something in my frig each time he came!” - Mary Horwitz Labels: residents Temple II North Gratz Street Awarded LEED Platinum Certification Thursday, November 03, 2011 Temple II North Gratz Street has been certified LEED® for Homes™ Platinum! This historic rehabilitation of 29 brownstone buildings on the 1500 block of North Gratz Street has preserved 40 units of affordable family housing in the vicinity of Temple University in North Philadelphia and is the largest gut rehabilitation project certified under the LEED for Homes program at the Platinum level in the United States.  A celebration was held on November 3 to celebrate the revitalization of this block. We were honored to have many of our funders, board members, and community leaders, and tenants present. Highlights of the day included words of appreciation from resident Monique Bagley, followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony, as well as a few selections by the Society Church Choir & the R.M Warren Silent Choir, both from the Society for Helping Church (Deaf & Hearing).   The LEED Platinum certification and Enterprise Green Communities award underline 1260's committment to making green and affordable housing one and the same. Not only is it better for the health of our residents, but it directly impacts the stability and sustainability of the entire neighborhood.  The rehabilitation and restoration of historic housing stock preserves the integrity of the neighborhood and contributes to the revitalization of the community.  Labels: LEED®, LIHTC, North Gratz Street, North Philadelphia, preservation, rehabilitation, residents, Temple II CPM Projects in the Spotlight at USGBC’s Greenbuild 2011 Affordable Housing Summit Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Greenbuild is the annual international conference held by the U.S. Green Building Council. This year, our Temple I North 16th Street project was highlighted, due to its prominence as the largest substantial rehabilitation project to be certified under LEED for Homes® at the Gold level. But most exciting for me was the selection of our Montgomery Hill Apartments project as a case study for a Charrette in the Affordable Housing Summit. Although the project is still awaiting funding, it is never too early to start planning.  By definition, a Charrette is “a fast-paced intensive workshop with key client, design, engineering, and building participants.... Charrettes provide a framework for achieving significant production and meaningful agreement among participants in relatively brief amounts of time.” With eight attendees in various roles as part of the case study team, and Walker Wells from Global Green USA facilitating, we discussed the project for four hours. Topics included: use of the commercial space; heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; potential for solar or alternative power; interior finishes; and many other topics. We even discussed how to get the highest yields from a community garden, along with the possibility of an “edible campus” – using fruit and vegetable trees and bushes as the main landscape material so that residents can pick and consume the ripe produce. Many of the outcomes of the Charrette were predictable and others were already being planned for, but one of the most technologically advanced ideas was the proposal to set a hydrogen fuel cell on the site. This cell could generate electricity and provide thermal energy in the form of hot water to heat the building, domestic hot water, and air conditioning. This sustainable technology has the potential to completely remove the project from the electrical grid and reduce carbon emissions by over 400 metric tons per year! While this technology is fairly new, the project lends itself to the use due to size, nature of the project and the potential for being LEED® certified at the Platinum level. Over the next few months, I will be researching this possibility further as we fine-tune the plans for Montgomery Hill. As you know, CPM Housing Group has committed to meeting Enterprise Green Communities criteria in all of our new construction and rehabilitation projects. With this in mind, we continue to explore cutting edge possibilities that will not only improve the energy efficiency and lessen the environmental impact of our portfolio, but even more importantly, increase the long-term health of our residents. I look forward to the day when green housing and affordable housing are one and the same. - David Hahn, Director of Construction & Corporate Operations, CPM Housing Group Labels: Charrette, historic rehabilitation, LEED®, Montgomery Hill Apartments, North 16th Street, preservation, rehabilitation, Temple I CPM Applies for HUD Energy Innovation Funds Tuesday, November 01, 2011 In early fall the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the availability of $25 million in funding through the Energy Innovation Fund, Multifamily Energy Pilot Program. The primary purpose of the program is to “stimulate innovative approaches for increasing the energy efficiency of existing multifamily residential properties that can be replicated by others.” HUD will make awards in two categories: financing demonstrations and applied research demonstrations. CPM applied under the research category, requesting the maximum award amount of $3 million. In its application CPM proposed to retrofit a portion of its stock of scattered site low-income, multifamily housing units (100 units in total), completing a variety of upgrades designed to promote energy efficiency. Half of the retrofitted units would be outfitted with energy display devices designed to visually display electricity consumption to housing tenants. The retrofit would set the stage for a research demonstration designed to test:
In sum, the applied research demonstration will develop a model for:
CPM is excited about this funding opportunity and hopes to learn about its application status by mid-January. Stay tuned! Labels: HUD Energy Innovation Fund, preservation, rehabilitation Temple I North 16th Street receives LEED GOLD Certification! Tuesday, June 14, 2011
 The Temple I project not only preserves 58 units of affordable housing for families living in the community, it also marks the largest affordable gut rehab project in the country to receive LEED for Homes Gold certification. The project features Forest Stewardship Council-certified lumber, non-toxic finishes, high-efficiency plumbing, white roofs, and drought-tolerant landscaping. Here are some of the day’s highlights in photos:
Labels: historic rehabilitation, LEED®, LIHTC, North 16th Street, North Philadelphia, preservation, Temple I |
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