By Cindy Gonzalez, Omaha World-Herald

In addition to TIF [Tax-Increment Financing], the developers seek “enhanced employment area occupation tax financing” amounting to nearly $10 million. Overall, the bulk of funding would come from a construction loan and investor equity, but also helping to fund the project would be about $6.5 million in federal and state historic tax credits and $3.5 million in Property Assessed Clean Energy financing (PACE is a new financing tool used to upgrade energy, water and utility systems in commercial properties).  Read more here.

Photo by Pat Hawks, Flickr

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED READING

• First look: Peregrine boutique hotel at 18th and Douglas is partly financed by new clean-energy program, Omaha World Herald
• Omaha hotel is first project financed with Nebraska’s PACE legislation, Energy News Network
• Archived Omaha World-Herald Article: Omaha City Council OKs development tool for financing energy-efficient projects
• City of Beatrice Asked to Consider PACE Law, in Economic Development, KWBE

BEATRICE – The City of Omaha is the first to adopt an ordinance allowing its use in Nebraska. The City of Lincoln is considering the same.  Now, Beatrice is being asked to consider Property Assessed Clean Energy financing, or PACE, as another tool for economic development.  It’s described as a low-cost, long-term financing mechanism for energy efficiency or renewable energy projects. Chris Peterson, Managing Partner for Pace Sage Capital in Nebraska, worked as a Legislative Aide to former State Senator Heath Mello when PACE was enabled through state law, making Nebraska the 34^th state to enact it.

MORE ABOUT PROPERTY ASSESSED CLEAN ENERGY (PACE) 

• PACE Nation Website
• Watch the video, PACE in 90 Seconds and download PACE Basics One-pager.
• Nebraska passed PACE-enabling legislation in 2016.

PACE was named one of the top 20 “world-changing” ideas by Scientific American magazine.
– PACE Nation