Long-term C-PACE financing enables high efficiency energy improvements in the conversion of a 75-year-old elementary school to multi-tenant specialty retail and services center

Lafayette, CO , October 25, 2023—Colorado C-PACE today announced the closing of a comprehensive HVAC and LED lighting retrofit project for the Lincoln Center in Colorado Springs. This comprehensive energy efficiency upgrade was a key element in furthering the continuing successful conversion of the Lincoln Elementary School, built in 1948, to a 14-tenant retail facility that includes a bakery, craft beer brewery, gym, coffee shop, barber, as well as other specialty retail services and restaurants.

Bellco Credit Union, a Colorado-based credit union and long-time Colorado C-PACE program capital provider, financed the $1.7 million project. Susan Rice, Bellco’s SVP of Commercial Lending, said, “As the mortgage holder on this property, we were thrilled to see the owner’s commitment to enhancing the repurposed school and its exciting and eclectic collection of retail stores and community services.” This represents Bellco’s seventh C-PACE financed project and El PasoCounty’s third C-PACE project.

Haynes Mechanical, an HVAC design and construction firm, developed the scope of work that included asbestos removal, replacement of existing boilers with high efficiency boilers, refurbishment of air handling units, a new Niagara Building Automation System (controls), and replacement of existing fluorescent lighting fixtures with LED lighting. Danny Sprague, Senior Project Development Lead at Haynes, said, “This was a terrific opportunity to incorporate high efficiency design in an innovative adaptive reuse project. Given the owner and lender were enthusiastic about making environmentally friendly choices, the Colorado C-PACE long-term financing was a compelling option.”

Liz Seeger, VP of Commercial Services at Griffis–Blessing, one of Colorado’s largest property management firms, said, “The building’s owner is committed to fully optimizing this former elementary school as a new El Paso County landmark which provides a much needed suite of services to the community”. Seeger added, “Thanks to C-PACE financing, the building’s high efficiency improvements make sense for the building owner’s vision, bottom line, the community, and the environment.”

About Colorado C-PACE

A program of the New Energy Improvement District (NEID), administered by Sustainable Real Estate Solutions, Colorado C-PACE facilitates financing for energy efficiency, water efficiency and resiliency improvements in new and existing commercial buildings, including new heating/cooling systems, lighting, water pumps, insulation, and renewable energy projects. C-PACE offers long-term financing that covers 100 percent of the project cost and is repaid over a period of up to 25 years. The payments are structured as a regular line item on the property tax bill.  When a property is sold, the C-PACE assessment can stay with the property and transfer to the new owner, who enjoys the ongoing utility cost savings associated with the project.

About SRS

Sustainable Real Estate Solutions (SRS) partners with state and local governments to administer commercial property assessed clean energy (C-PACE) programs. Founded in 2010 by experienced commercial real estate and energy efficiency professionals, the company’s proprietary technology-enabled Energy Performance Improvement Calculator (EPIC™) tool streamlines the management of the data-intensive C-PACE technical and financial underwriting process. SRS’s Investor Confidence Project-credentialed quality assurance methodology has facilitated over $650 million in C-PACE financing nationwide. SRS empowers C-PACE public-private partnerships across the country. The company is based in Monroe, Connecticut.