Buildings of Excellence Competition

The Buildings of Excellence Competition (the Competition) seeks proposals for multifamily demonstration projects that will be clean and resilient, beautiful, and functional, and will provide healthy, safe, comfortable, and resilient living spaces for their occupants. The Competition aims to accelerate the design, development, construction, and operation of multifamily buildings that will meet or exceed the minimum energy performance identified in this RFP and integrate co-benefits for occupants, such as controlled and healthy indoor air quality, as well as exceptional comfort. Successful proposers must demonstrate how their projects’ energy use and per capita carbon emissions will be substantively reduced, while increasing building resiliency, including passive and active survivability, in a manner that can be replicated at scale. Successful proposers will demonstrate how their projects will be profitable for the developers and owners and demonstrate realistic cost reductions in the design and construction of clean and resilient buildings. Proposers must commit to publicly share information related to the project’s design, costs, and performance relied on to support the decision-making processes employed to achieve the desired outcomes.

This seventh round of the Competition will consider projects that intend to serve all market sectors, at all building heights, while primarily focusing on projects that have advanced in their design and development cycle. The Competition is available to projects located anywhere in New York State, regardless of whether the project will be located in an investor-owned electricity distribution company service territory. Proposals for projects that are or will be located in disadvantaged communities, for projects in the construction documents phase, and for projects that involve the adaptive reuse of commercial office, institutional, or retail space to provide multifamily housing are considered in the scoring evaluation.

Selected projects are eligible to receive up to $1,500,000 in direct funding as well as support for initiatives focused on broad marketing and public awareness. The Competition will set aside $15 million to support projects that will be eight (8) stories or greater in height and $5 million to support projects less than or equal to seven (7) stories in height. The Competition will set aside a minimum of $10 million of the total funding available to support affordable housing projects.

This round of the Competition will accept proposals for multifamily demonstration projects in the construction documents phase as of the date their proposal is submitted to NYSERDA. Projects that have received a municipal approval; a Building Department’s final approval of the building’s architectural, mechanical, and plumbing plans; or the permit that allows for construction of the building at the time their proposal is submitted to NYSERDA will not be eligible for consideration.

The funding provided through this Competition may be used in conjunction with other funding available from NYSERDA and utility service providers. Projects that have been awarded funding from NYSERDA’s Community Heat Pump Systems Program PON 4614 Category B or Category C or funding from NYSERDA’s Large-Scale Thermal Program PON 5614 will only be eligible for an award of $24 per square foot of gross floor area, up to $1,200,000 through this Competition. Proposers must review the rules and eligibility requirements of all other programs, including utility programs, to determine if those funds are accessible in combination with funds offered by this Competition and clearly indicate duplicative funding is not being provided for the same scope of work. If incentives are being received from multiple programs, the incentive amount cannot exceed the design and implementation cost of the scope of work.

Informational webinar: NYSERDA will deliver informational webinars on Wednesday October 28, 2026 , starting at 10:00 AM and Wednesday January 6, 2027, starting at 10:00 AM. Participants will have the opportunity to submit written questions to the presenters in advance or during the webinar. Fill out this form to receive an invitation for the listed informational session and to be notified of additional informational webinars that may be scheduled. Submitting your contact information will ensure you will also be notified when the Competition is about to close, when winners are announced, and when a future round of the Competition is launched.

Solicitation number: RFP 3928 - Rd7 · Type: Request for Proposals · Schedule: Due Date / Multi Round · Opportunity type: Other Opportunities · Issued by: NYSERDA

Round 7: Proposals due January 20, 2027 at 3:00 PM Eastern.

Revised: 9/25/2026 11:24 AM

Contacts: Gwen McLaughlin, gwennc@nyserda.ny.gov, (518) 862-1090 x3099; Kristin Graham, kristinnc@nyserda.ny.gov, (518) 862-1090 x3069

Documents: RFP 3928 - Rd7 Summary · Attachment A - Data Collection Form - RFP 3928 Rd7 · Disclosure Statement · Executive Order 16

Apply and read the full notice on NYSERDA's solicitation portal.

NYSERDA is the state's energy research and development authority, funding efficiency, electrification, renewables and clean-energy training across New York.