The Menkiti Group Sets National Precedent in Green Finance
SBA approves DC PACE financing for energy project to cut utility bills for District business
Washington, D.C., July 12, 2016 – Today, the District of Columbia’s Department of Energy and Environment’s (DOEE) Property Assessed Clean Energy Program (DC PACE) announced $400,000 worth of PACE financing for The Menkiti Group, located at 3401 8th Street NE in the Brookland neighborhood.
The project includes an energy-saving retrofit for local, minority-owned real estate developer, The Menkiti Group, on a property originally financed through a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Section 504 loan. Additional capital improvements include interior and exterior LED lighting, envelope enhancements, HVAC upgrades, and installation of low-flow water fixtures.
“PACE financing solved a serious capital improvement need for our tenant, Annie’s ACE Hardware,” said Bo Menkiti, CEO of Menkiti Group, the firm that developed and owns the property. “PACE enabled us to invest in high-efficiency equipment that will pay for itself out of future energy savings.” Financed by PACE-secured capital from United Bank, these upgrades will save money immediately, providing savings of $585,000 over 20 years.
DC PACE is a financing tool that provides 100% of the upfront capital to retrofit commercial and multi-family buildings with renewable energy and energy efficient systems. These project costs are repaid through a special assessment on the property’s tax bill; most projects are cash flow positive on day one, with no money spent out-of-pocket by the owner.
This is the first time PACE financing has been approved through the SBA’s Little Rock, Arkansas Commercial Loan Servicing Center. “PACE financing is an important economic development tool for business owners,” said Sally Robertson, President and CEO of the Business Finance Group, the Certified Development Company that provided the SBA loan. “This project advances SBA’s mandate to help local small businesses grow and prosper, and furthers the Obama administration’s commitment to save energy and reduce the carbon emissions generated by our nation’s building stock.”
This historic PACE project unlocks a new tool to help finance green retrofits for federally assisted small businesses. In response to growing demand for PACE, the SBA will issue clarifying guidance for working with state and local PACE programs on projects financed through the SBA CDC/504 Loan Program. This guidance will further reduce closing costs and shorten approval times for PACE, and is currently receiving internal review at SBA for public release this summer.
“The Obama administration is showing important leadership by helping to make private capital available to local business owners to improve their energy performance,” explained Bracken Hendricks, CEO of Urban Ingenuity, the DC PACE program administrator. “By streamlining guidance for federally-backed finance programs to work with PACE, the SBA can make clean energy a major driver of economic development in U.S. communities.”
To date, PACE financing legislation has been enacted in 32 states, plus the District of Columbia, representing more than 80 percent of the U.S. population.
DC PACE is a Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) program that provides private sector capital to property owners, with 100% upfront financing for building improvements that save energy or water. For more information, visit doee.dc.gov/service/dc-pace-commercial.
Urban Ingenuity is the private-sector administrator for the DC PACE Commercial Program. With special expertise in Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing and other tools of public and private financing, Urban Ingenuity brings new capital resources to support deep energy efficiency retrofits of commercial and multi-family buildings, and to support project development of clean-energy micro-grids, co-generation facilities, and solar installations. Whether you’re a building owner, property manager, investor or project developer, Urban Ingenuity can help you cut costs, enhance financial performance, and fund your capital improvement. For more information, please visit www.urbaningenuity.com or call (202) 796-8925.
The Menkiti Group is an integrated real estate services firm dedicated to transforming lives, careers, and communities through strategic development, management, and sale of residential and commercial property founded in 2004. Over the past 12 years the Menkiti Group has invested over $160 million in DC’s emerging neighborhoods, developed over 600,000 square feet of residential and commercial property and assisted over 2,000 families in purchasing their homes. For more information, please visit www.menkitigroup.com or call (202) 243-7777.
For Media Inquiries:
Upasana Kaku, Urban Ingenuity, ukaku@urbaningenuity.com (202) 796-8925
Stephanie Liotta-Atkinson, The Menkiti Group, stephanie@menkitigroup.com (202) 808-8243
