Roanoke Encourages Energy Efficiency & Clean Energy with Special Financing Program C-PACE
Roanoke, Virginia – On Monday, October 19th, Roanoke’s City Council approved an ordinance that enabled Commercial Property Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing in the city. C-PACE is a unique loan program specifically for energy efficiency and clean energy projects for new construction or renovations. Qualifying projects include energy efficiency improvements, resiliency improvements, water efficiency improvements, and/or stormwater management improvements.
C-PACE offers property owners special benefits and the loan covers 100% of qualified expenses with no money down. It is a long-term loan with a repayment schedule that is frequently offset by the energy savings. Most importantly, this is not conventional debt and the loan is assigned to the property through a special assessment, freeing up capital for the owner and allowing the debt to be sold with the property. The loans can range from $30,000 to $20,000,000 therefore, C-PACE is a commercial loan that works for large projects and looks favorably on small business and non-profits too. All commercial property owners may participate, except owners of residential dwellings with fewer than five dwelling units and owners of condominium projects.
The community benefits as well with buildings that are more environmentally friendly and save valuable resources. C-PACE is an excellent economic development tool that increases local jobs and increases opportunity for developers with access to more capital to invest in future projects. Investments in commercial real estate lead to higher value, which ultimately leads to more property tax revenue opportunities in the future.
The City of Roanoke is committed to protecting the environment for future generations. Programs like C-PACE promote buildings that are cleaner and greener. To learn about C-PACE or Roanoke’s environmental commitment please contact Nell Boyle at 540-853-5430 or [email protected].
