C-PACE and Main Street Converge

Commercial properties on Main Streets across America have found C-PACE financing through Greenworks Lending to be an attractive way to finance their renovations. Home to generally older properties, Main Street and downtown area buildings greatly benefit from rehabilitation and investment in energy saving infrastructure supported by C-PACE finance. Building owners and developers can gain additional advantages when combining C-PACE with programs such as historic tax credits or other economic development incentives.

“Recognizing the potential for C-PACE to help business owners invest in their Main Street properties is the core reason we entered into the partnership with Main Street America,” explained Jessica Bailey, CEO and Co-founder of Greenworks Lending. “Their goal is to connect Main Street businesses with the resources that support vibrant downtown areas – and Greenworks is exactly that. It’s a terrific alignment of mission and we are proud to be a part of the Main Street family.”

In late March, Bailey and members of the Greenworks team attended “Main St. Now,” the national conference of Main Street economic development organizations in Kansas City, Missouri, a C-PACE enabled city and state.  Bailey introduced C-PACE to attendees on the opening day and the financing tool remained a topic of discussion throughout the four-day session.

“Stakeholders from across the country were interested in how C-PACE could benefit their communities, while others committed to work with us to bring C-PACE to more places,” recalls Bailey.

C-PACE is approved in more than 30 states with 16 active programs; Greenworks is actively lending in 12 of the 16 states. Three Greenworks projects from Connecticut and Maryland have been featured in a “C-PACE and Main” video that debuted at the Main St. Now conference. The projects represent the breadth and scope of property type and project that Greenworks has facilitated – ranging from a solar project at a family owned pizza shop to HVAC and building envelope at mixed-use multifamily/retail building.

“One of the things we know is that building and business owners on main streets are often burdened with high energy costs,” noted Patrice Frey, President and CEO of the National Main Street Center during an interview with Greenworks Lending at the Main Street Now conference.  “We see it [C-PACE] helping a community in a few ways. The first is helping building owners and business owners make investments in their older or historic buildings to help improve the efficiency. That’s great for the environment, but it’s also really good for the bottom line. It means money back in their pocket. Those are dollars they can reinvest in their business to expand and create more jobs, or its just improved profitability that they can enjoy,” she concluded.