The Multifamily Building Efficiency Grants Program provides grants to affordable multifamily buildings funded by Commerce’s Housing Trust Fund Program to decarbonize and replace fossil fuels with high-efficiency electric equipment.
Who is eligible for a grant?
- Existing affordable multifamily housing buildings that received funding from the Housing Trust Fund, are in compliance with affordability requirements and intend to maintain the affordability of the building.
- Buildings must also meet the following requirements:
- Have been in service for at least 15 years
- Use fossil fuels as the current primary fuel source for the building or units
- 20,000 square feet or larger
- Located in a census tract identified as disadvantaged by the Washington State Office of Financial Management’s Overburdened Communities Mapping Tool or are ranked 9 or 10 by the Washington State Department of Health’s Environmental Health Disparities Map
What types of projects can these grants fund?
Energy management and planning activities
- Benchmarking
- Energy audits
- Operations and maintenance planning
- Energy management planning
- Compliance with the Washington state Clean Buildings Performance Standard
Decarbonization and energy retrofit activities
- Replacing existing fossil fuel equipment with high-efficiency electrical equipment, including:
- Air-source (ducted, ductless, or package terminal) or ground-source heat pumps
- Heat pump water heaters
- Induction cooking equipment
- Heat pump dryers or all-in-one heat pump dryer and washer combos
- Electric service and infrastructure upgrades necessary for the installation and operation of new high-efficiency electric equipment
- Building envelope improvements beyond current Washington State Energy Code requirements, including:
- Insulation
- Windows and doors
- Air sealing
- Passive building design elements
- Lighting
- Building controls
- Renewable energy systems
- Green roofs
Available funding
There are currently no additional funds. Commerce anticipates requesting additional funding in the upcoming legislative session. Check back in 2026 for an update on available funds.
How to receive funding
Commerce anticipates directly contracting with affordable multifamily properties in the Housing Trust Fund portfolio. If your property meets the requirements listed above and you have an eligible project, you may reach out to your Commerce Housing Trust Fund contract manager or contact the Clean Buildings Unit at the email below. Please be prepared to provide documentation that your building is in the Housing Trust Fund portfolio.
Program impact
Commerce funded the following projects through the Multifamily Building Efficiency Grants Program:
- $6,900 to Mercy Housing Lincoln Way 1 to conduct an ASHRAE Level II energy audit at the Appian Way Apartments.
- $6,900 to Mercy Housing Lincoln Way 2 to conduct an ASHRAE Level II energy audit at Lincoln Way II Apartments.
- $7,600 to Mercy Housing Magnuson Place to conduct an ASHRAE Level II energy audit at Magnuson Place North.
- $8,500 to Mercy Housing Appian Way to conduct an ASHRAE Level II energy audit at the Appian Way Apartments.
- $74,613 to Mercy Housing Hillside Garden to conduct an ASHRAE Level II energy audit and install high-efficiency electric water heaters at Hillside Gardens.
- $89,873 to Low-Income Housing Institute to conduct a decarbonization feasibility study at Denny Park Apartments to benchmark current energy consumption and compare to anticipated Washington and Seattle Building Performance Standard targets.
- $113,642 to Mercy Housing Catalina Apartments to conduct an ASHRAE Level II energy audit and install high-efficiency electric water heaters at Catalina Apartments.
- $150,811 to Mercy Housing Evergreen Vista to conduct an ASHRAE Level II energy audit and install high-efficiency electric water heaters at Evergreen Vista II.
- $226,150 to Interim Community Development Associations to install high-efficiency electric equipment, including ductless heat pumps for all units, energy recovery ventilators for corridors, and a heat pump water heater at Samaki Commons.
- $1,084,100 to Vancouver Housing Authority for the Vancouver Housing Authority Energy Retrofit Project to conduct energy audits and building performance modeling at eight properties and building decarbonization projects, including installing heat pumps, ENERGY STAR appliances, and replacing exterior doors at five properties.
- $1,411,426 to Compass Housing Alliance to provide funding for multiple projects across an affordable housing portfolio. This work will help decarbonize through retrofitting and/or replacement of non-energy efficient and fossil fuel appliances and building systems with high-efficiency electric equipment.
- $1,450,000 to Housing Authority of the City of Pasco and Franklin County to install the equipment necessary to update, renovate, and preserve affordable housing units in the City of Pasco. These funds will ensure long-term housing for the community as well as increase the efficiency of all the units.
- $4,638,205 to Plymouth Housing for capital building improvements, including building envelope improvements, and high-efficiency electric equipment deployment, and energy planning assistance to meet Clean Building Performance Standards for fourteen buildings.
- $4,999,085 to Multi-Service Center to complete rehabilitation of the building envelope, installation of high-efficiency electric appliances, and lighting upgrades at Mitchell Place Senior Apartments and Villa Capri Apartments in Federal Way.
- $9,996,963 to Shelter Resources to assist in the rehabilitation of five rural affordable housing properties by providing energy efficiency systems such as replacement of lighting, energy star appliances, building insulation, and HVAC equipment. These energy efficiency systems will ensure that the properties continue to provide much needed affordable housing in rural communities and allow their residents to age in place.
- $10,000,000 to Tacoma Housing Authority to replace current heating/cooling systems with new high-efficiency electric equipment and make building envelope improvements at two large affordable housing sites in Tacoma.