Wepro | Moment | Getty ImagesA version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.A specific kind of loan that helps owners of commercial buildings pay for big upgrades to save energy or water, add renewable power, or improve resilience is seeing huge growth in a lending environment that has been arguably tough.This month, Nuveen closed a $465 million C-PACE deal for The Geneva, a landmark office-to-residential conversion in Washington, D.C. The transaction represents the largest C-PACE financing in history. C-PACE, which stands for commercial property assessed clean energy, is a type of financing that differs from a traditional bank loan. It operates at the state level, requiring local leaders to pass enabling legislation. The amount of the loan is added to the property’s tax bill and repaid over a long period (often up to 20 or 30 years). This can make energy-saving projects more affordable, because the payments are spread out, typically at fixed rates, and the upgrades can lower operating costs and increase property value.Between 2009 and the end of 2024, cumulative C-PACE investment reached nearly $10 billion, according to PACENation, a nonprofit that says it advocates for C-PACE financing. Growth, however, has really accelerated over the past five years — with C-PACE lending posting double-digit gains — as more states pass policies enacting the program and more owners and lenders adopt the tool for financing projects. Currently 40 states have C-PACE policies with 32 active programs, up from six active programs in 2015.[embedded content]Nuveen closed $2.1 billion in C-PACE loans across 53 deals in 2025 alone and has originated over $5 billion in total. In September Nuveen closed on its now-second-largest C-PACE transaction to date at $290 million for the Pendry Hotel & Residences in Tampa, Florida. The closing also marked the first C-PACE financed transacti …
