Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
The MMA hosted a webinar on June 17 with the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program. Speakers included (clockwise from top left) Laura Brennan, executive director of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Conor Glasheen, assistant vice president of Green Finance, and Rob Dolan, vice president of green finance at MassDevelopment.
The MMA hosted a webinar on June 17 with the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program, which offers financing to commercial property owners to fund energy improvements on existing buildings or new construction.
Administered by MassDevelopment, C-PACE allows borrowers to repay financing with special betterment assessments billed with property taxes. Massachusetts is one of the 40 states with PACE-enabling legislation.
Rob Dolan, vice president of green finance at MassDevelopment, said eligible properties include new or existing commercial properties, properties owned by not-for-profit organizations, and multifamily housing with five or more units. The funding can be put toward energy-efficiency upgrades to HVAC systems or building envelopes, or to renewable energy systems, such as solar parking canopies. The upgrades must be fixed to the property.
Conor Glasheen, assistant vice president of Green Finance, highlighted several projects that have used PACE, from historic buildings to seafood processing facilities. Because the financing is tied to the real estate, he said, “if the property is sold, the remaining PACE assessment and PACE lien run with the property, and transfer to the new owner.”
Dolan added: “We’ve tried to structure the program so it works closely with the communities and doesn’t add a lot of bandwidth to their responsibilities, including the fact that the repayment schedule has to align with the municipality’s existing billing and collection cycle, so there’s no ad hoc billing.”
Cities and towns must opt in to C-PACE, by vote of the select board or city council. To date, 85 municipalities have opted in.
Laura Brennan, executive director of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, moderated 30 minutes of questions and answers, addressing inquiries regarding the municipal opt-in process timeline, eligible properties, and the default process.