Energy Profile: Helping Hands Community Partners completes major energy efficiency project

Helping Hands Community Partners, a Providence-based nonprofit organization, actively works with government agencies and banks to acquire distressed properties. Using local labor, Helping Hands rehabilitates those properties so they can be sold at below-market prices to underserved populations including veterans, seniors, and low-to-moderate income families.

When the nonprofit acquired its present Elmwood Avenue headquarters, the 100-year-old property was in dire need of an update. The building had no air conditioning, very poor insulation, out-of-date wiring, and utilized three different heating systems. The building was virtually unusable during the hottest days of summer and coldest days of winter.

Helping Hands contacted the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank to inquire about the new Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Program (C-PACE). This program enables owners of eligible commercial and industrial buildings to finance up to 100 percent of energy efficiency improvements. In most cases, the energy cost savings exceed the monthly loan payments, allowing the building owners to maintain a positive cash flow.

“I would say that C-PACE provides a crucial piece of what can turn around distressed commercial properties in Rhode Island,” said Bill Fegley, managing director of Helping Hands Community Partners. “Often we see many dilapidated buildings in the area because there hasn’t been financing available to rehabilitate them and bring them up to code. C-PACE is the way to get back into the game.”

Helping Hands became the first organization in Rhode Island to utilize the C-PACE program for energy efficiency improvements. The nonprofit adopted water conservation measures, replaced all lighting with energy efficient LED bulbs, reinsulated the building and installed a new HVAC system. Helping Hands will save an estimated $133,000 over the life of the improvements and now the building is much more comfortable for employees and customers in all seasons.