NYCEEC and SustainEnergyFinance team on green affordable housing in Utah

ImpactAlpha

By Amy Cortese

November 4, 2025

Utah-based SustainEnergyFinance was founded two years ago to tackle Utah’s housing affordability crisis and help bring down household energy bills. The nonprofit has teamed with New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation, or NYCEEC, to support the development of an 8-story mixed-use development in a transit-dense area on Salt Lake City’s West Side.

NYCEEC led the $4.5 million pre-development loan to Utah-based developer 22 Communities. The loan was the first for SustainEnergyFinance, which has a pipeline of single and multi-family housing projects and retrofits, said SEF’s Shawna Cuan, and NYCEEC’s first deal in Utah.  

Catalytic capital

22 Communities is tapping the Low Income Housing Tax Credit as well as tax equity investors, and received a low-interest loan from the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City to build the project. The pre-development loan will support crucial activities like permitting and engineering studies that are often hard for developers to fund.

The mixed use development, The Cooperative 1881, will add 396 affordable housing units within walking distance of public transit. The building will be 100% electric and will be powered by renewable energy sourced through the Utah Renewable Communities program, which matches energy use with grid-connected clean power. The development includes small-format retail space to support a vibrant community.

“This is a very catalytic opportunity to provide an enormous amount of affordable housing in the Salt Lake area,” Cuan told ImpactAlpha. SEF hopes to create a replicable model for energy efficient housing developments across Utah.

(Read the full announcement at https://impactalpha.com/nyceec-and-sustainenergyfinance-team-on-green-affordable-housing-in-utah/)