Chicago is the Windy City, but that doesn’t mean older adults there have to suffer through any winter breeze.
An apartment complex in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood was one of five affordable senior housing sites chosen by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to receive funding to renovate their facilities with green, weather-resilient technology.
Extreme US weather events — both hot and cold — are expected to increase in the coming decades, and certain older adults may be among the most vulnerable. Both age and illness sap the body’s ability to recover or protect against temperature spikes, the National Institute on Aging warns.
The HUD funding will provide the facilities with several retrofits, including solar panel installations, new roofing, updated heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and other interior upgrades, according to a federal notice.
The Chicago site also will be using the money to pay for rooftop greenspace, which should reduce air pollution both inside and outside the buildings and help keep temperatures low during the summer months, according to a report in Block Club.
The five affordable senior housing communities receiving HUD funding:
- Corcoran Place Apartments in Chicago
- Hillcrest Village in Providence, RI
- Fairweather Salem Apartments in Salem, MA
- Greenspire Apartments in Stoughton, WI
- Spring Valley Crossing in Kalamazoo, MI
Overall, the residences are getting $28.4 million in funding, courtesy of HUD’s Leading Edge program. The program awarded more than $100 million overall last month.
Although the HUD program mainly is addressing facilities in the Northeast and Midwest, other senior housing operators in the Southwest are taking steps to become more weather-resilient and help mitigate climate change. That includes installing new solar panels, and, in the not-too-distant future, adding air conditioning units, the McKnight’s Tech Daily reported this summer.
