Nuveen Green Capital Provides 1st Idaho C-PACE Financing
Sweetwater Cos. secured funding for a project near a major university campus.
Nuveen Green Capital has closed on $15 million in C-PACE financing for the development of Sweetwater Cos.’ Madison Station, a 360-unit development in Rexburg, Idaho. It marks the first C-PACE financing transaction in the state of Idaho.
NGC, a national leader in sustainable commercial real estate financing solutions, partnered with Sundance Bay on a nearly $30 million financing package for the developer, Sweetwater. Use of the C-PACE funding enabled Sweetwater to significantly reduce the weighted cost of construction debt for the project. Using C-PACE in lieu of a typical bank A-note leverages C-PACE’s low interest rate and borrower and lender-friendly paper to provide an alternative to bank debt.
“We’re very excited to have closed the first C-PACE transaction in the state of Idaho, and we could not have done it without the enthusiastic support of our lender, borrower and the city of Rexburg partners,” Aidan McLaughlin, director of originations, Nuveen Green Capital, told Multi-Housing News.
McLaughlin said the legislative process was smooth from start to finish and allowed the borrower to blend down the average cost of the construction debt by a considerable amount.
C-PACE, which stands for Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy, provides flexible financing solutions for new, ongoing or recently completed commercial real estate projects. C-PACE has grown in popularity as an attractive financing mechanism in the CRE market. It is now available in 40 states and Washington, D.C.
Madison Station details
Sweetwater recently completed the first phase of Madison Station with the delivery of 144 apartments. With the C-PACE closing, construction is now underway on the second phase, which will add an additional 216 units to the property.
The community is located at 577 Trejo St. near Brigham Young University’s Idaho campus. The project is aimed at young families and students and will feature one- and two-bedroom apartments with various modern amenities.
The C-PACE financing will be used to pay for the building envelope, including the roofing, windows and insulation, as well as lighting, water conservation measures, boiler and HVAC for the project.
“With financing and construction costs remaining elevated, it’s more important than ever to find creative and accretive financing solutions to ensure that multifamily housing development projects pencil for our borrowers,” McLaughlin told MHN. “Pairing NGC’s C-PACE alongside financing from a lender like Sundance Bay is a great example of C-PACE being part of a creative structure.”
The C-PACE structure also allows sponsors to build more sustainable projects while realizing significant cost efficiencies to benefit their bottom line and their local community.
More NGC C-PACE Deals
NGC, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year, has surpassed $3 billion in cumulative originations volume. Originally known as Greenworks Lending, the Darien, Conn.,-based firm was acquired by Nuveen in 2021 and now operates as an affiliate of Nuveen.
Earlier this month, NGC provided $40 million in C-PACE financing to Naftali Group for the development of JEM Private Residences, a 259-luxury condominium tower in downtown Miami. The project is slated for completion in the fourth quarter of 2027. C-PACE financing will be used to fund the building’s energy efficiency and resiliency measures, including envelope, lighting, structural materials, water efficiency measures, energy efficiency consulting, and elevator system.
Last April, Stark Enterprises secured C-PACE financing from NGC for the development of Summer Pointe Village, a 454-unit build-to-rent community in Summerfield, Fla. The developer also received $22 million in construction financing for the two-phase project from Huntington National Bank.
