#nuveen – Philadelphia C-PACE

December 18, 2023

Lubert-Adler & Northbridge ESG LLC Close $25.6MM deal, the Third Largest in Pennsylvania

C-PACE was used at the completion of construction for six of 12 separate condo units at the Battery, an adaptive reuse of the old PECO generating station

The Battery is an adaptive reuse project by Lubert-Adler located at 1325 Beach Street. The former PECO power plant was transformed into a first-class mixed-use project including hospitality, multifamily, retail, and commercial spaces. The building fronts the Delaware river in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia and is located in an Opportunity Zone and abuts Penn Treaty Park. North Bridge provided C-PACE proceeds at TCO for work that had already been completed as part of the large-scale renovation. This was Northbridge’s first C-PACE financing in Pennsylvania. Fact sheets for this project and all PA C-PACE projects can be found here.

Laura Rapaport of North Bridge stated, “We are thrilled to provide capital for this innovative adaptive reuse and repurposing for this former power plant that has been transformed into a mixed-use campus with multifamily residences, offices and event space. We are excited to be part of such a pivotal transaction that provided a market solution within a fully institutional capital stack (borrower and lender). This project also demonstrates the ability for developers to improve energy savings and upgrade outdated infrastructure with efficient and sustainable measures”.

Philadelphia City Councilmember Mark Squilla (1^st District) is “thrilled to see C-PACE being used for energy efficiency improvements to this magnificent adaptive reuse of an old PECO generating station. $26.6 million invested in energy and water conservation for an iconic building that is part of the Delaware River waterfront revitalization effort is a win-win-win. This financing shows that C-PACE is a great solution for building owners to significantly reduce energy consumption thereby lowering operating costs, improving property value, and combating climate change.”

“This project is a great example of how clean energy financing enables important capital improvements and creates economic development. At the Philadelphia Energy Authority, we use energy as a tool for positive local impact, and this project exemplifies that,” said Lisa Shulock, Director of Commercial Programs at the Philadelphia Energy Authority, which administers the Philadelphia C-PACE program. “We are particularly excited to see that modeled energy use is expected to be 29% lower than the City’s building energy code.”

Interested in learning more about C-PACE? Contact us at cpace@philaenergy.org and/or attend our C-PACE Open Meetings which take place on the last Thursday of each month from 2:00-3:00PM. See all C-PACE Philadelphia events here.

September 26, 2023

Palladium Group & Nuveen Green Capital close $7.5MM C-PACE deal

The Philadelphia Energy Authority, Nuveen Green Capital and TLSIC P3, LLC and Liberty Square P3, LLC closed on retroactive C-PACE financing for energy efficiency and water conservation measures installed during the construction of Phase III of Liberty Square, a mixed use multifamily and commercial property located at 1214 & 1252 N. American Street. Fact sheets for this project and all PA C-PACE projects can be found here.

Liberty Square is located in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia. The project construction was completed in 2022. C-PACE financing for this new construction building was used for energy and water efficiency improvements. Energy modeling shows it is expected to be 23% more energy efficient than required by Philadelphia’s building energy code. The owners, managed by Palladium Group, borrowed $7,500,000 in C-PACE financing from Nuveen Green Capital to fund the energy and water efficiency improvements.

February 12, 2023

First Multifamily C-PACE Deal Closes in PA

Riverwards Group secures $17.9MM in energy efficiency financing for 220 apartments through C-PACE program expansion

The Philadelphia Energy Authority and Nuveen Green Capital announced the closing of $17.9MM for a 220-unit multifamily property in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia on East Somerset and Tulip Streets. This project is the first in Pennsylvania to take advantage of expanded eligibility for multifamily properties and it is the 12th project in Philadelphia, bringing total C-PACE investments to $117MM.

Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing allows for investments in energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable energy, and now IAQ and resiliency, that are paid back over time through special property assessments.

The Riverwards Group development, known as Somerset Station, is set to open in 2024. “We are grateful that this development is the first multifamily project in Pennsylvania to benefit from the newly expanded C-PACE program,” said Mo Rushdy, Managing Partner, Riverwards Group. It is a transformative project that brings an unprecedented large-scale development to North of Lehigh Avenue, in an area that has been neglected development-wise. This development would not have happened without the use of C-PACE and Community Revitalization Act funding. Nuveen Green Capital and Citizens Bank worked together to make this project happen.”

Shelah Wallace, Director of Origins at Nuveen Green Capital stated “we are thrilled to be able to help Riverwards reduce their equity requirement by utilizing our C-PACE product. We are also very proud to have partnered with Citizens Bank as they recognized the benefits of having C-PACE in the capital stack.”

Senate Bill 635 expanded eligibility for C-PACE financing to include multifamily commercial buildings, indoor air quality and building resiliency improvements. The bill was signed by Governor Wolf in July 2022 and took effect in September 2022. Act 43 of 2022 expands on Act 30 of 2018, which first enabled C-PACE financing in Pennsylvania for commercial buildings. Sponsored by Senator Yudichak, the Act extends eligibility to multifamily commercial buildings of 5 or more units, as well as indoor air quality and building resiliency improvements. Representative Heffley sponsored the House companion bill, HB 1760.

“We are grateful to Senator Yudichak and Representative Heffley for their sponsorship of expansion,” said Emily Schapira, President & CEO of the Philadelphia Energy Authority, Philadelphia’s C-PACE Administrator. “This project is evidence of the importance of the expansion.”