Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. – National CORE, one of the nation’s leading developers of affordable housing, has been awarded a historic $8 million grant by the California Energy Commission (CEC) to build a next-generation low-carbon and resilient community in San Diego.
National CORE is working with energy-efficiency experts Arup and Build Momentum to pioneer groundbreaking solutions at Palm City Transit Village, a 390-apartment affordable housing community in the Otay Mesa-Nestor neighborhood of San Diego.
Plans include creating a microgrid so the community can run on solar power during the day and battery-stored solar energy during the evening.
“National CORE is proud of our longstanding record of innovation and leadership,” National CORE President Mike Ruane said. “With Palm City, we are collaborating with the state, San Diego regional partners and the nation’s top energy-efficiency design experts to create something never before seen.”
Global energy-efficiency development consultancy Arup is providing decarbonization design oversight, commissioning, measurement and verification for the landmark project. Arup developed recommendations for advanced design strategies based on a $1 million grant National CORE received in early 2022 to create designs for the development.
“This grant award represents a vote of confidence in the intense and integrated design approach taken by the design team thus far, building on the impressive track record that National CORE has already set in energy-efficient, affordable housing,” Arup associate Sahar Abbaszadeh said.
National CORE earned its fifth consecutive designation as a LEED for Homes Power Builder from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2023. Also in 2023, National CORE earned a rare Platinum designation from the USGBC for its Legacy Square affordable housing community in Santa Ana. In 2019, the nonprofit was the first developer to sign the American Institute of Architects’ 2030 Commitment to boost energy-efficiency in the built environment.
The grant is one of just four awarded as part of the commission’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) initiative. The CEC selected one developer in each of four regions of California to “reimagine affordable mixed-use development in a carbon-constrained future.”
National CORE was selected for the region spanning the Imperial Valley, Inland Empire and San Diego County.
“National CORE has an enviable record of finding new ways to mesh energy-efficient construction with affordable housing,” said Tim Kohut, National CORE’s director of sustainability. “Our innovations typically become state energy code requirements a few years after we pioneer their use. With this EPIC grant, we are once again blazing new trails for our industry.”
In addition to Arup and Build Momentum, National CORE is working with architect Studio E.
National CORE’s now standard program of innovative design includes energy-efficient building envelopes, all-electric power systems, rooftop solar panels, state-of-the-art water controls and drought-tolerant landscaping.
Typically, as buildings stretch over three stories, a lack of rooftop space limits the ability for solar panels to provide sufficient power. When possible, National CORE will add panels to parking areas to supplement those.
Because transit-oriented developments limit parking, National CORE is pioneering the use of panels on building facades at Palm City, a seven-story building located by the Palm Avenue Trolley Station. The development will also employ innovations in building materials and insulation to significantly reduce energy needs.
Palm City is a joint development with the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). It gives residents direct access to the MTS UC San Diego Blue Line Trolley, which connects riders across the county, between La Jolla/UTC and San Ysidro.
The development includes ground-floor retail space for local business owners and entrepreneurs. A community center will serve as a hub for onsite resident services, programs and events. Additional amenities will include an onsite childcare center and outdoor recreation spaces for residents.
“We have proved time and again that energy-efficient efforts are feasible in affordable housing. They benefit the broader community while at the same time reducing costs for our residents,” Kohut said.
Those savings can be significant for low- and moderate-income residents of San Diego, home to the nation’s most expensive utility costs, Kohut said. The microgrid also will create an oasis of power if the region’s power grid should ever fail.
The Palm City development will be built in phases, starting in 2025.
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About National CORE
National CORE is one of the largest nonprofit developers in the nation, with a 30-year history of being an innovator in the field. In 2021, National CORE became one of only two affordable housing developers to earn an A+ credit rating from Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings. In 2022, National CORE issued $100 million in Series 2022 Social Bonds to accelerate the development of critically needed affordable housing. Serving more than 25,000 residents, National CORE strives to be a launching pad, not a landing pad, for families struggling financially. In 1998, National CORE created the Hope through Housing Foundation, a philanthropic nonprofit whose mission is to end the cycle of generational poverty through resident services that promote educational attainment, economic mobility and overall well-being.
About Arup
Dedicated to sustainable development, Arup is a collective of 20,000 designers, advisors and experts working across 140 countries. Founded to strive for humanity and excellence in everything that we do, we collaborate with our clients and partners, using imagination, technology and rigor to shape a better world.