The Canadian Infrastructure Bank has loaned Canadian Apartment Properties REIT $70 million for a nationwide retrofit project.

CAPREIT intends to decarbonize about 60 buildings across the country. The upgrades will benefit residents of approximately 14,000 suites, said CIBB in a news release.

The improvements will include energy-recovery systems, the installation of high-efficiency electric heat pumps, as well as building automation systems, lighting retrofits and submetering.

The loan is part of CIB’s Building Retrofits Initiative, which “helps to close economic gaps associated with deep energy retrofit projects that are not typically economically viable with traditional sources of capital,” said the federally owned lender.

“Working with CAPREIT to fund deep energy and decarbonization retrofit projects will help improve the living experience for thousands of their residents in Canada,” said Ehren Cory, the bank’s CEO. “The CIB’s loan will also help to tackle the reduction of a key source of greenhouse gas emissions, which is essential to contributing to the achievement of Canada’s climate change goals.”

To date, the CIB has invested more than $1.2 billion in sustainability-oriented building retrofits across Canada.

“This loan will enable us to proceed with retrofitting approximately one-third of our existing Canadian apartment portfolio, which will significantly reduce its carbon emissions annually,” said Mark Kenney, CAPREIT’s president and CEO, said the loan will enable the REIT

Pictured: CAPREIT Toronto apartment building slated to receive a retrofit in conjunction with CIB’s $70-million loan

Photo: CNW Group/CAPREIT