Featured Portfolio News News
Wednesday, March 27th, 2013
In a recent post, we highlighted a report that shows how energy efficiency upgrades in multifamily buildings could save building owners and residents up to $3.4 billion annually. Despite this, the multifamily building sector represents a mostly untapped opportunity for energy efficiency gains amongst traditional utility-run programs.
One reason for this is because the multifamily market has unique challenges that must be addressed in order to deliver effective programs. The good news is, we have a roadmap and there are partners along the way to help utilities capitalize on the enormous opportunity for energy savings that exists in the multifamily housing sector.
A new report we released along with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Engaging as Partners: Introducing Utilities to the Energy Efficiency Needs of Multifamily Buildings and Their Owners, examines the factors that contribute to effective energy efficiency program design for multifamily buildings and recommends strategies that can help utilities design and implement energy efficiency programs. Read more »
Posted in Energy, Featured Portfolio News | No Comments »
Friday, March 22nd, 2013
Residential real estate sales prices for properties located near transit are healthier and more resilient than in the broader metropolitan region. That’s the conclusion of The New Real Estate Mantra: Location Near Public Transportation, written by CNT and commissioned by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Although residential real estate prices dropped during the recession in the five regions studied (2006 to 2011 in Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Phoenix, and San Francisco), average sales prices for residential properties within walking distance of a heavy rail, light rail, commuter rail, and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station outperformed the region by an average of 42 percent.
In Boston, transit-served areas (transit sheds) outperformed the region by a staggering 129 percent. In Chicago, home values in transit served areas performed 30 percent better than the region; in San Francisco, 37 percent; Minneapolis-St Paul, 48 percent; and in Phoenix 37 percent.
Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, H+T, Location efficiency, Transit-Oriented Development, Transportation and Community Development | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, March 19th, 2013
CNT Climate Change Program Director, Jen McGraw, spent three days last week looking at the human dimensions of resilient and sustainable cities at the Garrison Institute’s Climate, Cities and Behavior Symposium.
The invite-only conference, held at a former monastery on the Hudson River in New York, dug into the concept of resilience as it relates to cities in an era of changing climate and superstorms. Through panels, case studies, and workshops, the group looked at ways that local governments and civic organizations can strengthen neighborhood assets and connectivity.
Eric Klinenberg described how during both the Chicago Heat Wave of 1995 and Hurricane Sandy, neighborhood institutions, even informal ones, were a critical factor in the varying responses neighborhood-to-neighborhood.
Mindy Fullilove and the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance’s Eddie Bautista discussed the importance of considering the full historical context in neighborhoods of inequality, poverty, and the legacy of urban redevelopment when partnering to address climate change. Read more »
Posted in Climate, Featured Portfolio News | No Comments »
Friday, March 15th, 2013
Large apartment buildings represent a significant and mostly untapped opportunity for energy efficiency gains according to a bevy of reports out by researchers in the field. Traditional utility-run energy efficiency programs tend to focus on single family homes or commercial office buildings, leaving multifamily buildings across the United States wasting billions of dollars unnecessarily each year.
In 2012, we conducted a study with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) which shows that energy efficiency upgrades in multifamily buildings could save building owners and residents up to $3.4 billion annually. These upgrades help maintain affordable housing, decrease financial risk for lenders, and improve tenant comfort. But, building owners often have problems finding technical assistance, financing, or qualified contractors to upgrade their buildings. Read more »
Posted in Energy, Featured Portfolio News | No Comments »
Friday, February 22nd, 2013
Does your home or business suffer from a wet basement or flooded backyard? You’re not alone! Whether or live in Cook County IL, 
or somewhere else in the nation, we want to hear your story. We’re aiming to get 200 stories, along with data on the cost and stress it caused you, to help make the case for action at state and national level. Your information on costs of stormwater damage in your basement and backyard will also be used to help us design the nation’s first wet weather ‘Wetrofit’ service.
Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Natural Resources | No Comments »
Friday, February 15th, 2013
Photo credit: Patrick Putze
For nearly a century the Bloomingdale freight line has rolled across and above the City’s Northwest side. Today the tracks are aligned to transform the Bloomingdale into an elevated, mixed-use, linear park and trail running through the heart of Chicago, connecting neighborhoods, the river, and Chicago’s great park system. Since 2003, Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail have been advocating for this conversion of the rail line into Chicago’s next great park. Many community groups and public agencies have participated in a community charrette that led to the development a framework plan for this major endeavor.
CNT is pleased to be hosting, Reframing Ruin: A Prelude to the Bloomingdale Trail, a photography exhibition presented by Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail and The Trust for Public Land. The exhibit showcases the community’s documentation of the future trail, its relationship to the diverse neighborhoods it cuts through, and how we currently interact with this stretch of land through photography. Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Transportation and Community Development | No Comments »
Monday, February 11th, 2013
CNT’s pioneering program, ‘Smart Water for Smart Regions’ and its practical focus on designing strategies to help communities alleviate costly water leakages and property damage from flooding, is attracting national attention. Our program staff have been appointed to national and state committees, and invited to speak at national events about this initiative. Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Natural Resources | No Comments »
Friday, February 8th, 2013
The Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD) today released results of a year-long study into the potential for transit-oriented development to unlock economic, environmental and fiscal benefits for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. The report, “Transit-Oriented Development Typology Strategy for Allegheny County,” was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group under the auspices of its GoBurgh initiative and funded by the Heinz Endowments. Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Location efficiency, Transit-Oriented Development, Transportation and Community Development | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 5th, 2013
“Photo Credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video/Flickr Creative Commons”
The insurance company, State Farm, has renewed its support for CNT’s “Smart Water for Smart Regions” initiative.
State Farm was a core supporter of the initiative in 2012, along with the Joyce Foundation and Surdna Foundation. Funding is being used to help communities develop strategies to alleviate costly water leakages, as well as property damage from flooding. Organizational supporters include the American Water Works Association, Water Environment Federation, Alliance for Water Efficiency, and the Great Lakes Commission.
Read more »
Posted in Featured Portfolio News, Natural Resources | No Comments »
Friday, February 1st, 2013
CNT’s affiliate, CNT Energy, hit a milestone this month:more than 10,000 apartment units in the Chicago metropolitan area have been retrofitted with energy efficiency improvements through its Energy Savers program. Energy Savers, a one-stop shop that helps multifamily building owners make energy efficiency improvements to their properties, saves building owners 30 percent on utility costs on average ($10,000 per year for a 24-unit building), allowing landlords to keep rents reasonable because of those savings. Additionally, the program has cut more than 13,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, created nearly 400 jobs, and provided nearly $10 million in loans and grants to complete the building improvements.
Lou Sopcic owns a 96-unit building located in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. “Going through the Energy Savers program made owning this building viable,” said Sopcic. “Energy efficiency for this building is the difference between being able to balance expenses and losing our property.” The savings helped Sopcic preserve nearly 100 units of affordable housing. Read more »
Posted in Energy, Featured Portfolio News | No Comments »
