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Greenspire Apartments

Wisconsin’s first 100% net zero tax credit development

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2026 RENEW Wisconsin Summit

Paul Schechter, Executive Director

Sunny Side Development

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Sunny Side Development

  • Background in housing and sustainability
  • Realized a true but unfortunate reality:

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  • Founded the 501(c)3 nonprofit Sunny Side Development in May 2018.

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If the status quo continues, the millions of units required to solve the affordable housing crisis will only make climate change worse.

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Sunny Side Development

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Mission

To create affordable, sustainable housing in Wisconsin.

Sunny Side Development

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Greenspire

Location

Stoughton, WI

Dates

July 2022 - September 2025

Owner

Stoughton Housing Authority

Co-Developer

Crown Court Properties

Contractor

Northcentral Construction

Total Dev. Cost

$25.0M

Unit Mix

89 1-BR & 3 2-BR @ 30% - 50% AMI

Project Sources

9% LIHTC, GRRP, USDA, FHLB New York, WHEDA, Focus on Energy

Sustainability

100% net-zero, 743 kW solar, heat pump HVAC & hot water, ERV, triple-pane windows, high R-value insulation and fully sealed

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Inflation Reduction Act

  • Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP)
  • Leading Edge Cohort: choice of 12 certifications to 100% net zero carbon
  • International Living Future Institute Zero Energy
  • Awarded $65,000 per unit, $5.52M total in the

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Energy Model:�

    • Hired Thermal Energy System Specialists
      • Challenge 1: reduce overall consumption while adding property-wide air conditioning.
      • Challenge 2: fit enough onsite solar to produced 120%+ of expected consumption.
      • Challenge 3: stay on budget and on time!

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Energy Model: Scope�

    • What got removed:
      • Geothermal - triple the cost of ASHPs
      • Wrapping entire brick envelop with exterior foam-board and re-siding
      • Mist ‘Aerobarrier’ air-sealing
    • What stayed:
      • Triple-pane Alpen windows
      • R-80 insulation for gable attics, R-50 closed cell for cathedral
      • Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERVs)
      • LED lighting, low-flow water fixtures
      • Air-sourced heat pump minisplits
    • Last minute addition:
      • Converted all water heaters from electric resistive to heat pump

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Solar�

924

1040

1070

1060

1050

1046

Building

Capacity (kW)

924

189.89

1040

162.69

1050

61.42

1060

113.90

1070

127.54

1046

87.70

Total

743.14

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Solar�

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Modelled vs Actual Results�

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Modeled (kWh)

Scaled Actual* (kWh)

Pre-retrofit energy consumption:

685,320

685,320

Post-retrofit energy consumption:

513,279

783,567

Net reduction:

172,048

(98,247)

Percent reduction:

25.10%

(14.3%)

Solar Production:

721,441

857,430

Solar percent of total load

140.6%

109.4%

*Based on 4 months of solar data.

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Energy Model:�

    • Human Behavior
      • Who receives financial benefits of net zero on affordable housing?
      • Difficult to divide solar across 92 private meters
      • New HVAC placed on house meters, not private
      • Will consumption increase if HVAC goes on house meter? (Answer: YES!)
      • Difficult to model

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Water Conservation

  • Replaced every toilet with 0.8 gpf Niagara Stealth toilets
  • Updated showerheads and water fixtures with low-flow heads
  • Saving approximately 20,000 gals per month

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90,000

70,000

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Permaculture

  • Bioswales
  • Rain gardens
  • Food forests
  • Raised bed gardens
  • Rainwater harvesting

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Thank you!�(Board elections February 16 @ 6pm)

�Paul Schechter, Executive Director

Sunny Side Development

(608) 239-8500

paul@sunnysidedevelopment.org

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