March 12, 2025 Washington, DC — Responding to news of the Trump administration plans to halt the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP), the head of one of the country’s largest associations representing nonprofit providers of affordable housing communities for low-income older adults called on the White House today to thaw its freeze on the millions of dollars awarded to members for the preservation of affordable senior housing.
Referencing the monies designated through the Inflation Reduction Act for housing preservation via the GRRP administered through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, including affordable housing, stressed the need to keep the money flowing to ensure the viability of these projects:
“Directives in the January 20 White House Executive Order have resulted in the termination of the flow of millions of dollars awarded to our nonprofit and mission-driven members for critically needed preservation projects at affordable housing communities for low-income older adults. These initiatives cannot survive without these federal funds. To not receive them after they have been awarded is unconscionable.”
According to the Associated Press report, roughly two dozen of the 270 projects awarded funds will receive their money. Across the country, over 50 projects under way at LeadingAge’s nonprofit members await over $150 million in awards.
LeadingAge member Greg Franks, president of Manor Management Services, the management agency for Smith Tower in Vancouver, Washington, which was awarded a $10 million loan through the GRRP, says, “Our government must ensure the predictable and timely delivery of funding commitments already made by HUD … in order to avoid additional costs which could derail the project entirely and put at risk the stability and safety of these seniors’ homes and hundreds of jobs.”
Adds member National Church Residences, which has five GRRP-awarded projects totaling $14.38 million, anticipated to leverage more than an additional $28 million in total funding, “Recent Executive Orders relating to HUD have created short-term uncertainty but we’re working closely with advocacy groups to ensure our lawmakers understand the critical importance federal funding and benefits programs have for our seniors, their families, and staff.”
Putting the urgency of the GRRP funding need into context, LeadingAge’s Linda Couch, senior vice president, policy and advocacy said: “Federal housing programs meet the needs of only one of every three eligible older adult households. Wait lists at many of our members’ communities illustrate the demand: in 2024, one provider member in Manhattan opened 150 spots on its list, and over 10,000 older adults applied. With demand rising, preserving existing supply–which is precisely what the GRRP money does–is critical. Each day of funding uncertainty increases the odds that deals will disintegrate, threatening the viability of improving and preserving these affordable housing communities. Our members are nonprofits, often faith-based, that rely on federal and state grants and loans, as well as private philanthropy, to finance deals. Many have already spent money to initiate projects: Smith Towers’ pre-development investment, for instance, is half a million dollars.
Couch adds: “The projects that the GRRP funds support are significant: not only will they help in the critically important preservation of existing homes, these investments will, if made, save the public billions on utilities and other operating expenses and position these communities–and help residents–thrive in the future.”
