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Program to Provide Assistance for Essential Home Repairs and Energy Efficient Improvements

CAMDEN, N.J. – ӣ����Ƶ Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Lori Grifa today announced that the ӣ����Ƶ Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) is partnering with the City of Camden and a host of government, nonprofit and private organizations to launch a new home rehabilitation program for eligible Camden homeowners. The Camden Program Offering Widespread Energy Recovery (POWER) Residential initiative will provide up to $16,000 in financial assistance per household for essential home repairs and energy efficiency improvements. The announcement took place at Cramer Hill Community Center in Camden.

“The main goal of the Camden POWER Residential program is to transform the energy efficiency of one of the nation’s poorest cities and to stimulate the local economy through job creation and retention,” said Commissioner Grifa, Chair of the HMFA Board. “The program will provide eligible homeowners with forgivable loans for both energy efficiency and necessary life safety repairs. The HMFA is proud to participate in this worthwhile program.”

The Camden POWER Residential program will serve eligible homeowners residing in the city’s Biedeman, Cramer Hill/Pavonia, Gateway, and Parkside neighborhoods. Homeowners who participate in the program can expect to achieve total energy savings of at least 25 percent.

Program funding is a combination of a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, a $1.5 million grant from the ӣ����Ƶ Economic Development Authority’s Economic Recovery Board for Camden and up to $640,000 in rebates from the ӣ����Ƶ Board of Public Utilities’ Clean Energy Program. Other partners include Cooper’s Ferry Development Association; ӣ����Ƶ Community Capital, a nonprofit community development financial institution; and Scungio Borst & Associates, a construction management company in Camden.

“Camden POWER Residential is a remarkable cooperative partnership of federal, state, local government and community entities to assist Camden residents with energy savings. As an expansion of the popular Camden Home Improvement Program known as CHIP, this initiative creatively leverages resources to offer homeowners vital assistance to improve their properties,” said HMFA Executive Director Anthony Marchetta.

A portion of the assistance is in the form of a no interest loan which is payable only upon the sale or refinance of the home and is completely forgiven if the homeowner resides in the home for 10 years from the date of the loan. Additionally, the homeowner may be eligible for up to $4,000 in rebates from the ӣ����Ƶ Board of Public Utilities. The maximum assistance amount per household is $16,000.

The HMFA will act as the Camden POWER Residential Funding Administrator and will be responsible for allocating and overseeing the loan portion of the program. Cooper’s Ferry Development Association will serve as the local program manager and will be available to assist the homeowner throughout the process from application to the completion of the improvements.

For more information on the Camden POWER Residential program, log on to . For more information on HMFA programs, please call 1-800-NJHOUSE or 609-278-7400, or log on to .