EAST END APARTMENTS LEED IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY

All 15 properties received energy-efficiency certification from The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system, developed by the U.S.Green Building Council (USGBC), the gold standard for buildings, homes, and communities that are designed, constructed, maintained, and operated for improved environmental and human health performance. RUPCO is a leading community developer of affordable housing and economic wealth-building opportunities in the Hudson Valley.

RUPCO achieved LEED certification for East End by implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions aimed at achieving high performance in sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

“Scattered-site re-development within a challenged urban core is fundamental to saving and preserving Place,” says Chuck Snyder, Director of Construction at RUPCO. “Historically accurate, LEED certified, safe, healthy, and secure housing, well-executed and managed, will serve this community through the balance of this millennium, by not only extending the useful life of these worthy structures, but also in preserving the fabric that has defined this Place for the past 150 years. The investment and effort expended are the long game. It is in stark contrast to the equity vacuum, disinvestment, and abandonment which has defined the prevailing attitude toward too many of our urban centers for the latter half of the 20th century.”

In 2018, RUPCO celebrated the opening of East End Apartments, a scatter site development of 45 rental homes for those of modest means in 15 historically renovated buildings in Newburgh’s historic district in a 4-block radius north of Broadway. RUPCO restored these once-abandoned,19th-century traditional row homes with historic preservation and energy efficiency in mind, paying attention to architectural details and NYS EnergyStar^® For Homes and LEED for Homes standards.

“Achieving LEED certification is more than implementing sustainable practices. It represents a commitment to making the world a better place and influencing others to do better,” says Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, USGBC. “Given the extraordinary importance of climate protection and the central role of the building industry in that effort, RUPCO demonstrates its leadership through its LEED certification of East End.”

EAST END APARTMENTS epitomizes a tri-sector approach among several nonprofits, private investors, and government sectors to transform the Newburgh community through building rehabilitation and creation of integrated housing. East End Apartments includes 15 buildings with a mix of studios and one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments for income-eligible individuals, working families, artists, homeless youth, and veterans in need. Apartments range in size from 482-1348 square feet. This multi-site development also includes 3,000 square feet of community space known as “The Hub” which hosts a community policing sub-station, studio/gallery space for artists, and meeting space for after-school activities. Safe Harbors of the Hudson serves as property manager.

About USGBC:  The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) vision is that buildings and communities will regenerate and sustain the health and vitality of all life within a generation. Its mission is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Available for virtually all building, community and home project types, LEED provides a framework to create healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings. LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement.