In addition, Renovate America is reinventing its own space, and Pacific Building Group has been hired to complete the build-out. Currently in two offices, Renovate America has signed a seven-year lease on a 160,000-square-foot space in the Rancho Vista Corporate Center in Rancho Bernardo here. Landlord Swift Real Estate Partners is spending approximately $12 million on the building's interior space and $6.6 million on the construction of an additional 10,000-square-foot café building and other improvements. Pacific Building Group will complete the interior build-out and an adjacent 10,000-square-foot building for the company's 670 employees. CBRE's Brad Black represented Swift, which recently acquired Rancho Vista Corporate Center from Hewlett-Packard, and CBRE tenant representation experts Courtney Murphy, Andrew Ewald, David Viani and Bill Dolan represented Renovate America.

The partnership between Renovate America and Greenworks will allow both companies to leverage considerable synergies in PACE financing—from access to capital markets to experience in the commercial-lending space to existing relationships with building-improvement contractors—while bringing a commitment to best-in-class customer service.

We spoke with Bailey about what the partnership means for each company and how it impacts CRE.

GlobeSt.com: What does the partnership between the two organizations mean for each of you?

Bailey: The partnership allows for Renovate America to bring a commercial PACE offering to its network of contractors and government partners. For Greenworks, it allows us to expand more quickly into markets that have been established by Renovate America and the expand our commercial PACE offering to a wider network of end users.

GlobeSt.com: How will commercial PACE financing impact the commercial real estate market?

Bailey: C-PACE is a terrific tool for commercial building owners looking for a zero-money-down solution to upgrading their building and dropping their operating expenses.

GlobeSt.com: Where can such financing lead if allowed to grow?

Bailey: There are countless building types and project types that can be financed using C-PACE. It's a financing product that has been embraced by offices, retail facilities, industrial facilities and non-profits. We have invested in building owners to put solar on their roofs, insulation in their walls, and new mechanicals throughout their building. The application of C-PACE to finance a wide range of energy upgrades has very exciting possibilities.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about this partnership?

Bailey: This is a partnership that brings together two leaders in the PACE industry with a shared commitment to a quality customer experience, with the goal of scaling PACE as a financing tool throughout the country.

SAN DIEGO—C-PACE is a terrific tool for commercial building owners looking for a zero-money-down solution to upgrading their building and dropping their operating expenses, the Stamford, CT-based Greenworks Lending's CEO Jessica Bailey tells GlobeSt.com. Greenworks recently finalized a national partnership with locally based Renovate America, a leading provider of Property Assessed Clean Energy financing, to spur efficiency and renewable-energy investments on commercial buildings.

Under the national partnership, Greenworks and Renovate America will begin offering commercial PACE financing through the HERO Program in Missouri. The partnership will expand to other HERO markets as the program grows around the country. Greenworks currently offers commercial PACE in Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island, Ohio, Texas and the District of Columbia. HERO residential PACE financing is currently offered in Missouri and California and is set to expand to Florida this year.

PACE financing, which has been approved in some form in more than 30 states and the District of Columbia, allows owners to access upfront financing for clean energy and efficiency improvements to their properties. Commercial PACE investment has doubled every year since its inception in 2009 and is continuing to accelerate with 380% growth in the last quarter of 2016 compared to the same period of 2015, according to PACENation, a PACE policy advocacy organization. In states that have adopted PACE legislation, the number of buildings that could be eligible for commercial PACE financing is around 1.5 million.

With commercial PACE, the owner repays the financing over time through an additional, voluntary assessment on their property taxes over a term of up to 25 years, depending on the jurisdiction. This structure allows most building owners to see immediate cash flow from the improvements, and secures the repayment to the property rather than the owner—meaning the PACE assessment transfers to the new owner upon sale of the building. Payments may be passed along to tenants where appropriate, and interest on the payments may also be tax-deductible.

In addition, Renovate America is reinventing its own space, and Pacific Building Group has been hired to complete the build-out. Currently in two offices, Renovate America has signed a seven-year lease on a 160,000-square-foot space in the Rancho Vista Corporate Center in Rancho Bernardo here. Landlord Swift Real Estate Partners is spending approximately $12 million on the building's interior space and $6.6 million on the construction of an additional 10,000-square-foot café building and other improvements. Pacific Building Group will complete the interior build-out and an adjacent 10,000-square-foot building for the company's 670 employees. CBRE's Brad Black represented Swift, which recently acquired Rancho Vista Corporate Center from Hewlett-Packard, and CBRE tenant representation experts Courtney Murphy, Andrew Ewald, David Viani and Bill Dolan represented Renovate America.

The partnership between Renovate America and Greenworks will allow both companies to leverage considerable synergies in PACE financing—from access to capital markets to experience in the commercial-lending space to existing relationships with building-improvement contractors—while bringing a commitment to best-in-class customer service.

We spoke with Bailey about what the partnership means for each company and how it impacts CRE.

GlobeSt.com: What does the partnership between the two organizations mean for each of you?

Bailey: The partnership allows for Renovate America to bring a commercial PACE offering to its network of contractors and government partners. For Greenworks, it allows us to expand more quickly into markets that have been established by Renovate America and the expand our commercial PACE offering to a wider network of end users.

GlobeSt.com: How will commercial PACE financing impact the commercial real estate market?

Bailey: C-PACE is a terrific tool for commercial building owners looking for a zero-money-down solution to upgrading their building and dropping their operating expenses.

GlobeSt.com: Where can such financing lead if allowed to grow?

Bailey: There are countless building types and project types that can be financed using C-PACE. It's a financing product that has been embraced by offices, retail facilities, industrial facilities and non-profits. We have invested in building owners to put solar on their roofs, insulation in their walls, and new mechanicals throughout their building. The application of C-PACE to finance a wide range of energy upgrades has very exciting possibilities.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about this partnership?

Bailey: This is a partnership that brings together two leaders in the PACE industry with a shared commitment to a quality customer experience, with the goal of scaling PACE as a financing tool throughout the country.