The PNC Plaza building in downtown Columbus is getting $3.3-million in energy-efficiency upgrades, thanks to two “new public financing programs for green projects,” The Columbus Dispatch reports. The property owners struck a financing deal with the Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority to pay for the updates to the “roof, lighting, air controls and water supply,” according to the article. The deal includes a low-interest loan from Franklin County as well as bonds that the finance authority sold “to pay for a large portion of the project.” PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing allows the building owners to repay the authority “through a special assessment on the property (for more on PACE financing, click here).” Jean Carter Ryan, the finance authority’s president, said, “[t]he idea is that it’s a wash in terms of this new debt because you should be reducing your energy costs by what we hope is a like amount”; in this case, Carter Ryan said PNC should save about $187,000 annually as a result of the project. The Dispatch article reports, “[l]ast year, Franklin County used sales tax revenue to launch a revolving loan fund meant to provide low-interest financing to retrofit aging buildings with energy upgrades.” The loan program is providing a $400,000 loan to the PNC property owners to be repaid over 15 years.
The PNC Plaza building in downtown Columbus is getting $3.3-million in energy-efficiency upgrades, thanks to two “new public financing programs for green projects,” The Columbus Dispatch reports. The property owners struck a financing deal with the Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority to pay for the updates to the “roof, lighting, air controls and water supply,” according to the article. The deal includes a low-interest loan from Franklin County as well as bonds that the finance authority sold “to pay for a large portion of the project.” PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing allows the building owners to repay the authority “through a special assessment on the property (for more on PACE financing, click here).” Jean Carter Ryan, the finance authority’s president, said, “[t]he idea is that it’s a wash in terms of this new debt because you should be reducing your energy costs by what we hope is a like amount”; in this case, Carter Ryan said PNC should save about $187,000 annually as a result of the project. The Dispatch article reports, “[l]ast year, Franklin County used sales tax revenue to launch a revolving loan fund meant to provide low-interest financing to retrofit aging buildings with energy upgrades.” The loan program is providing a $400,000 loan to the PNC property owners to be repaid over 15 years. For more, read the full article.
