PETROS PACE FUNDS ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADES FOR LANSING-AREA PROPERTY
Project enabled by $718,000 PACE loan expected to save owner more than $1.8 million
AUSTIN, TEXAS (Jan. 9, 2017) — Petros PACE Finance, LLC has completed a $718,000 Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) transaction with a Michigan property owner that will fund significant energy efficiency upgrades to a 36-year-old commercial facility.
Property owner Delta Business Center, LLC plans to install a new HVAC system, LED lighting, high-efficiency fans, modern building automation system and skylights in its Delta Business Center, a 93,000 square foot light industrial building that previously housed the Lansing State Journal printing and distribution facility.
The investment is expected generate more than $1.8 million in energy savings over the 20-year life of the loan. The project will be financed without any out-of-pocket expense to Delta Business Center, LLC through the Lean & Green Michigan PACE program, which allows commercial property owners to retrofit their buildings with renewable energy and energy efficient systems by borrowing money from a private lender and repaying the loan via a special assessment on their local property tax.
“The PACE program makes it incredibly easy for property owners to invest in energy efficiency by making it a cash flow positive project for the borrower” said Petros CEO Mansoor Ghori. “With the cost of this investment spread out over two decades, the energy savings will help attract users and tenants into this obsolete and essentially vacant facility.”
Like all PACE loans, repayment will be facilitated through the county property tax assessment process. Voluntary assessments are placed on the building owner’s property tax bill, and the assessment is repaid over an agreed term of up to 20 years.
The assessment obligation automatically transfers to the next owner if the property is sold before the loan is repaid.
“We invest in sustainability and energy efficiency because it’s the right thing to do, and it’s good for our prospective tenants and their businesses,” said Delta Business Center President and CEO Murray D. Wikol, who, through his affiliate company Provisions, LLC, focuses on real estate redevelopment, public-private joint ventures, economic development, and job creation and retention. “Open floor plans and lower energy and maintenance costs make the building more attractive to a prospective tenant because it improves the quality of life for their workforce and saves money. With PACE financing there is no upfront out of pocket expense, therefore being sustainable and energy efficient is the obvious, noble and correct decision.”
This is the second commercial PACE project to close in Eaton County.
“The commercial PACE market is really starting to take off in Michigan as we enter 2017,” said Andrew Levin, president of the Lean & Green Michigan PACE program.
Petros is one of the first specialty finance firms in the U.S. to dedicate all of its resources to the commercial PACE market nationwide.
Currently available in 32 states and Washington, D.C., PACE financing makes comprehensive clean energy projects possible on a broader scale for the first time by:
- Providing up to 100 percent financing to commercial property owners in order to fund energy efficient projects that deliver deep energy cost savings through the life of the loan.
- Rendering a private loan into a property tax obligation and enabling lenders to grant longer terms of up to 30 years or the useful life of the upgrades.
- Allowing commercial property owners to increase the value of their existing buildings by reducing total energy costs and increasing net operating income.
For more information visit http://www.petros-pace.com.
Petros PACE Finance
Austin-based Petros PACE Finance, LLC is solely dedicated to providing long-term PACE financing to U.S. commercial property owners seeking to increase their property values and reduce their carbon footprint. The principals of Petros PACE Finance – Mansoor Ghori, Tommy Deavenport and Jim Stanislaus – have substantial experience in structured finance and lending, and bring significant value to all parties involved in the transactions in which they participate.
Media Contact: Kate Miller Morton
Phone: (512) 922-6277
