Historic Florence Building to Use C-PACE Financing for Major Renovations

Lafayette, CO—Colorado C-PACE announced today that commercial building investors REI Keyholder Limited has engaged the CO C-PACE program to support an energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrade for their property located at 200 South Pikes Peak Avenue in Florence, CO. 

CJ Hays Construction, LLC managed the project development of energy savings measures that include a new roof, window upgrades, efficient plumbing, LED lighting, HVAC system upgrades and a 49.14 kW solar PV system. Imperial Ridge Real Estate Capital will provide project financing.

Located in an historic district, the two-story, 8,708 square foot building, built in 1914, was the former home of the Florence Citizen Newspaper. The property has two commercial spaces on the ground floor. The second floor will be renovated and converted into nine apartments. The anchor tenant is the Florence Brewing Company, a hub of social activity in Florence, Colorado.

Byron Elliott, Chief Vision Officer with REI Keyholder Limited, said “As this building stands out for so many reasons—its beautiful architecture, its historic significance—it would have been a tragedy not to renovate it. We want to ensure that it will continue to be a vital contributor to Florence’s allure as a place to live and to visit.  We are very excited to be one of the few, if not the only, development company to utilize the benefits of the C-PACE program, the Colorado Historic Foundation Revolving Loan Fund, and State and Federal Historical Tax Credits as a means to fund the project.  This has been a very intriguing project, and we are proud of our team, CJ Hays Construction and Johnathan Sims of Domus Vitae Architecture, in helping to pull this project together.”

Carmen Hays, owner of CJ Hays Construction, said that “We are proud to be contributing to the renovations on such a charming and graceful building, one that contributes so much to Florence’s strong aesthetic ambiance.”

Mark Boyer, President and CEO of Imperial Ridge Real Estate Capital, said “This was a great project for C-PACE financing representing a unique opportunity for us to support historic restoration, and local economic development alongside a client with whom we share a vision of building a better built 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 and water 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 $500 million in C-PACE financing nationwide. SRS empowers C-PACE public-private partnerships across the country. The company is based in Newtown, Connecticut.

About Imperial Ridge Real Estate Capital

Imperial Ridge Real Estate Capital is a private commercial real estate capital provider based in Colorado. The firm acts as a single source for a full suite of commercial real estate debt products including C-PACE all designed to maximize the value of assets for commercial real estate owners, developers and asset managers throughout the United States. Imperial Ridge is able to provide combined mortgage loan products aimed at meeting the unique needs of each transaction and better addressing an ever-changing marketplace.  To learn more, please visit www.imperialridgecap.com.

About REI Keyholder Limited

REI Keyholder Limited is a real estate investment and development firm the specializes in the development of historic real estate properties, primarily in Fremont and Custer Counties.  In addition to the 200 South Pikes Peak project, they are currently developing the historic Florence Hotel and the Westcliffe Feedstore for multi-use purposes, and own Property in historic downtown Canon City.