Three groups with an interest in upgrading the energy efficiency of Evanston’s housing stock are seeking $1 million from the city’s $43 million federal American Rescue Plan Act allocation.
The proposed Evanston One-Stop Housing Retrofit Pilot Program is a collaborative effort of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Elevate and the Evanston Development Cooperative.
Bob Dean, CEO of CNT, said the program would help alleviate the impact of climate change on lower income people in Evanston, achieving both the city’s equity and sustainability goals.
Hank Love, midwest market director for Elevate, said his group is already operating similar programs in other cities, including Madison, Wisconsin, and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The program would focus on three lower income census tracts in the city and hopes to be able to provide a variety of upgrades to 50 housing units over its two year run.
It also is designed to help expand the network of minority and woman-owned contractors providing retrofit services in the city.
At Tuesday night’s meeting of the city’s Housing and Community Development Committee three of the committee’s nine members said they would have to recuse themselves from the discussion because they are members of EDC.
The committee is scheduled to vote on whether to recommend the project to the City Council at its next meeting on June 21.