As part of its Resilient Reading initiative, the city will host a free virtual roundtable for commercial building owners hoping to improve energy performance in their buildings.
The program will be presented Jan. 13 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in partnership with the Green Building Alliance.
It will focus on Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy, or C-PACE, financing that can help owners modernizing, rehabilitating or restoring their older buildings, transitioning to renewable energy or upgrading for energy savings.
C-PACE is an innovative tax law policy that allows commercial property owners to make clean energy upgrades with no money down, through a favorable loan repaid through property tax assessments.
It provides low-cost, long-term financing to support small businesses and property developers looking to maintain and modernize their buildings in ways that simultaneously benefit their bottom line and the broader community, organizers said.
The roundtable will feature a panel of experts who will introduce and demystify the C-PACE program and offer case study examples of recently completed clean energy building upgrades financed through the program.
Panelists will include Elaine Evosevic-Lozada, leader, C-PACE Program, Sustainable Energy Fund; Garett Vassel, founding president, Optima Durant Group, owner of The Commodore, a mixed-use redevelopment in Easton; and Shelah Wallace, senior vice president, Originations, Bayview Asset Management.
Wallace’s experience in real estate lending, particularly in C-PACE capital provider leadership roles, brings expert perspective to the discussion, organizers said.
Examples of eligible C-PACE projects include:
• Whole-building insulation
• Geothermal heating and cooling
• Combined heat and power
• Smart building systems
• State-of-the-art chillers, boilers, or furnaces
• Heat recovery systems
The free event is part of series presented by the city in cooperation with the alliance.
The Pittsburgh-based nonprofit works with communities to create spaces that are as healthy for people as they are for the environment.
The alliance partnered with the city to provide expertise on sustainable building practices, present the series and offer free annual energy and water use assessments to building owners in Reading
To register and receive a link for the free program, visit gba.org/events.