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Lafayette, CO—The owners of a 62-year-old office property in downtown Denver are replacing the building’s central HVAC chiller system with help from the Colorado C-PACE program. The state-sponsored program, which encourages energy efficiency projects in commercial buildings, facilitated the long-term financing that will cover 100 percent of the project’s cost.

Trane will install the improvement at the 14-story, 162,831-square-foot building, located at 110 16th Street and known locally as the “Petroleum Building.” The project is projected to improve the building’s energy efficiency by 12 percent and reduce its annual CO2 emissions by 1,384 tons.

CleanFund, a provider of commercial PACE financing nationwide, originated the project and funded the investment, which totaled $1.1 million. The financing will be repaid over 20 years at a fixed-rate, and is non-recourse.

“The Petroleum Building is a well-managed building with forward-thinking owners who quickly understood that with C-PACE, they are able to access low-cost, long-term financing that replaces end of life capital expenditures in a manner that both creates positive cash flow and is accretive to the value of the asset,” said Joshua Kagan, managing director of CleanFund.

“Our goal is to help our customers improve their building systems so that they run at maximum efficiency, eliminate surprises, and control operating costs,” said Doug White, a senior project developer at Trane. “C-PACE enables us to do more projects than we otherwise would be able to as it enables owners to think beyond the simple payback period.”

“The Petroleum Building, which boasts a mid-century modern façade, light-filled interiors, and a prime downtown location, was a state of the art building when it was constructed in 1957,” said Tim Borst, the building’s co-owner. “Like any building of that vintage, it requires continued investment to keep it operating efficiently. C-PACE enabled us to fund our improvement project with long-term financing, which made it affordable. Even better, it covered 100 percent of the cost, which kept our capital budget intact. It’s a great program and I’m glad we have it in Colorado.”

About Colorado C-PACE

A program of the Colorado New Energy Improvement District (NEID) administered by Sustainable Real Estate Solutions, Colorado C-PACE provides financing for energy and water improvements, including new heating/cooling systems, lighting, water pumps, insulation, and renewable energy projects for commercial properties. 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. Visit copace.com for more information.