Thursday, December 12, 2024
ConstructionEnergy Efficiency

On-Site Energy Training Kicks Off In Marygrove With DWEJ and Southwest Solutions

A shame though it be to spend a sunny Saturday indoors, sometimes it’s necessary to take care of an old house. Today we  convened on Roselawn St. on Detroit’s west side with trainees from a pilot workforce development program. The program enlists Detroit Housing Commission residents and trains them in energy modeling, energy analysis, and hands-on building envelope retrofit work. Kevin McNeely (McNeely Building Group) led the training session on the analysis and modeling, which used software like SketchUp to copy floor plans, while a collaborative effort brought together local contractors with the trainees for on-site work. The end goal is to scale the program to create a pipeline for skilled trades training for Detroit Housing Commission residents. The house on Roselawn was used as part of Southwest Housing Solutions‘ partnership housing development program in partnership with the Detroit Land Bank Authority and Talmer Bank (edit: Chemical Bank, later TCF Bank).

Nat (Southwest Housing Solutions) and Leila Mekias (Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice) in Marygrove.

Nat M. Zorach

Nat M. Zorach, AICP, MBA, is a city planner and energy professional based in Detroit, where he writes about infrastructure, sustainability, tech, and more. A native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, he attended Grinnell College in Iowa, the Kogod School of Business at American University, the POCACITO transatlantic program, the SISE program at the University of Illinois Chicago, and he is also a StartingBloc Social Innovation Fellow. He enjoys long walks through historic, disinvested Rust Belt neighborhoods at sunset. (Nat's views and opinions are his own and do not represent those of his employer).

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