Commercial real estate developers and property owners are utilizing Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) as an attractive alternative CRE financing mechanism to fund new construction developments, substantial rehabilitation projects and to recapitalize recently completed projects. Recently made available statewide across Georgia, C-PACE capital can be used for nearly all commercial buildings, including multifamily, hospitality, office, industrial and retail.

Nuveen Green Capital — one of the nation’s leading C-PACE capital providers, has funded over $2.5 billion of C-PACE capital into a large range of projects across states, asset types and stages of construction.

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Flexible capital

C-PACE’s flexible structure allows for it to fund commercial real estate projects pre-, mid-, or post-construction. 

C-PACE can finance new construction projects to:

  • Reduce weighted average cost of capital 
  • Replace more expensive forms of financing 
  • Eliminate need for a participant lender
  • Provide incremental leverage

C-PACE can finance projects mid-construction to:

  • Fund construction cost overruns 
  • Provide additional working capital for interest reserve deficits
  • Provide additional capital for future contemplated tenant improvements
  • Eliminate or reduce need for capital call or additional equity injection

C-PACE can finance recently completed projects post-construction to:

  • Recapitalize projects up to 3 years after completion
  • De-risk and paydown the senior lender 
  • Bridge the gap for slow lease-up or to stabilize projects 
  • Stabilize the asset with lower debt service by paying down expensive capital 
  • Flexibility to push out debt service payments for ~3 years

Economic driver

C-PACE unlocks public policy benefits for development projects and serves as a tool for economic development and sustainability. Using 100% private capital, the program effectively utilizes public-private partnerships to drive investment, not only providing owners and developers significant financial benefits, but benefiting local communities and the environment as well.

A recent example – the Origin Hotel, Atlanta

Rendering of the Origin HotelNuveen Green Capital

Nuveen Green Capital recently closed on an exciting hospitality project located in Historic South Downtown Atlanta. The owner of the Origin by Wyndham Hotel had completed the conversion of a 50s era office building into a six-story, 74.2K square foot boutique hotel. NGC partnered with First Bank to provide a combined $21.8 million in construction capital, of the $30.4 million total project cost. By utilizing ~$5 million in C-PACE financing to recapitalize sustainability measures of the project, the sponsor was able to pay down the senior lender, while reducing equity and freeing up liquidity.

To learn more about C-PACE financing, contact Ryan Doyle, Nuveen Green Capital’s senior director, originations - Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, at ryan.doyle@nuveen.com, or visit Nuveen.com/greencapital.