Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner celebrated the completion of the first Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing project in Maryland with a “green” ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 20.
In March 2015, Montgomery County established the C-PACE program to provide innovative financing to qualified commercial property owners interested in achieving energy savings. This inaugural C-PACE project at the Shady Grove Professional Building and the adjacent Comfort Inn Shady Grove in Gaithersburg was completed in early March 2017. The project was first announced in October 2016. The project includes energy-efficient HVAC upgrades, boiler replacements, LED light installations and building envelope improvements that are expected to save more than 1,600 million Btu of energy annually—enough energy to power 35 homes for a year.
Other participants include Lisa Feldt, director of the County’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Bob Eisinger, principal and managing member, ProMark Real Estate LLC, the building owner and Keith Derrington, chief operating officer, Recurrent, LLC, the energy contractor on the project.
C-PACE financing can cover up to 100 percent of project costs and is repaid as a long-term surcharge on the property tax bill. This type of financing allows Montgomery County building owners to make clean energy upgrades and improve property value without upfront capital costs.
The County’s C-PACE program is jointly managed by the Departments of Finance and Environmental Protection. To learn more about the County’s C-PACE program, visit www.MC-PACE.com.