CREJ

Page 18 — Health Care Properties Quarterly — April 2018 www.crej.com Finance Blending the Generations Experts in Design Mixology Tenant Planning Services 1660 Lincoln St, Ste100, Denver, CO 80264 303.861.4800 l www.TPS.design Contact us to learn more I ntroduced to property owners by legislation in 2014 and, more recently, in the Colorado Real Estate Journal’s March issue of Office Properties Quarterly, Com- mercial Property Assessed Clean Ener- gy offers 100 percent no-money down financing for energy improvements with long fixed-rate terms and repay- ment via the property tax bill. The financial product is effective for residential care and health care facili- ties that are expanding their physical space or in need of improvements to their energy related infrastructure, such as lighting and HVAC.The program even covers improvements that affect water usage and energy conservation such as windows, building controls and insulation. “A significant number of our clients are senior living facility owners, and with reimbursement dollars shrink- ing, C-PACE financing is a great way for them to increase their cash flow while making nec- essary energy effi- cient investments,” advised Jeff Liebert, director of tax and energy solutions for Assured Partners. Liebert advised his client, Premier Health Care Man- agement, of the pro- gram’s availability in Ohio and it has sub- sequently secured nearly $5 million in long-term, low-cost funding to better manage capital expenditures for two major expansion projects at existing facilities. Harold Sosna, president of Premier Health Care Management, spoke of one of the projects, a 26,000-square- foot expansion at its KenwoodTerrace transitional care facility in Cincinnati, which will provide for 25 additional private rooms and a large therapy gym. The renovation also includes a retrofit element, the conversion of multiple semiprivate rooms to private rooms. “The efficiency measures will con- servatively save the organization more than $400,000 over the life of their operation and our residents will be much more comfortable during their stay,” said Sosna. Energy-saving measures engineered into the KenwoodTerrace project range from roofing, windows, insulation and lighting of the new edition to build- ing controls and even the thermostats used in each room. For health care property managers, developers and owners, a relationship with contractors familiar with energy- saving incentives and programs can be helpful. A growing number of contrac- tors, project managers, engineers and even economic development partners are helping to raise awareness of this financing option. “Among the distinct advantages to working C-PACE into a funding plan or capital stack for a project like this is the term of the loan, which matches the useful life of the improvement,” stated Jessica Bailey, Greenworks Lending CEO and co-founder. “This allows owners to conserve capital while energy savings measures are not value-engineered out.” Chris Meyer of Energy Optimizers, who is helping to develop the Premier Health Care Management projects, sug- gests that C-PACE programs are a win- win for both health care businesses and their patients. He sees the care provider saving on operating expenses and the client experience being posi- tively affected by updated infrastruc- ture. “One of the real benefits that C-PACE provides is that kind of funding so that a building owner doesn’t have to go back through (a renovation plan) and say, ‘Look, everything is too expensive, I’m not going to do that, showme what the cheaper version is.’ In this case we are really looking at efficiencies and can pay for those efficiencies by being able to offer C-PACE as a financing mechanism,” stated Meyer. In Colorado, C-PACE financing is available in most municipalities. Facil- ity owners can start a conversation either with a contractor who is knowl- edgeable of C-PACE or they can contact a capital provider such as Greenworks Lending to determine a potential fund- ing amount before starting a project. In the case of recently completed capital improvements, there is even potential for refinance of the energy saving and renewable energy components through the Colorado C-PACE program. s Expansions, renovations fueled by C-PACE program AdamMoskowitz Marketing manager, Greenworks Lending C-PACE program availability in Colorado

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