St. James Manor, in Perham, was recently notified it has been awarded a $584,000 Green Retrofit Grant through the Federal Government's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
St. James Manor is located at 415 8th Avenue Southwest and provides housing to people age 62 years and older or to individuals who are disabled and meet income guidelines. St. James Manor is managed by Perham Memorial Hospital and Home (PMHH).
The portion of the Recovery Act under which St. James Manor will receive the grant, is the Assisted Housing Stability and Energy and Green Retrofit Investments section. It provides authority to facilitate utility-saving retrofits and other retrofits that produce environmental benefits, in addition to furthering the objects of the Recovery Act, namely, to provide a necessary boost to the economy.
Built in 1982, St. James Manor will use the grant monies to replace all apartment and common area windows, exterior doors, and bathroom fixtures and exhaust fans. All apartments will be retrofit with programmable thermostats and new LED or Compact Fluorescent light fixtures, range hoods, and Energy Star refrigerators and air conditioner units. The community room kitchen will also receive an Energy Star dishwasher.
In addition to the grant, St. James Manor has committed $95,000 in funds to make repairs to the exterior of the building and to replace the current tub/shower units with walk-in with grab bars in all apartments.
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"This grant is a great example of how government and private business can work together to improve people's lives in many different ways," said Dan Peterson, Senior Director of Community Services for PMHH. "These improvements will show immediate energy savings for our tenants and improved safety. Additionally, using the economic rule of thumb that each dollar spent locally multiplies seven times, the potential economic boost for our area is over $4 million because all materials and labor will be purchased locally."
Hammers Construction, Inc., Perham, will be the local contractor with work scheduled to begin this fall and completed by spring.
Inquiries regarding an application for an apartment can be directed to Deb Anderson, St. James Manor Housing Coordinator, at (218) 346-2200.
