The historic Flatiron Building, now known as Flatiron Heights, is the first Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACER) project in East Tennessee, officials said.
Pathway Lending provided the capital required for energy efficiency improvements in the historic redevelopment of the building, which is located at 707 Georgia Ave.
The capital will fund the installation of multiple energy and water conservation measures, including LED lighting, heat pumps and low flow plumbing fixtures.
The five-story historic office building originally constructed in 1911 has been converted to approximately 24,000 square feet of 23 residential and retail/office condominium spaces.
"At Pathway Lending, we are proud to pioneer new sustainable development initiatives in Tennessee,” said Brandon England, director of sustainability programs. “Our collaboration with Flatiron Heights, leveraging C-PACER financing in East Tennessee, underscores our commitment to offer innovative capital solutions to advance a more sustainable future for the communities we serve."
officials said, "C-PACER is reshaping the landscape of sustainable development, offering a unique opportunity for building owners and developers to access capital for climate-related upgrades, renewable energy initiatives, and new construction costs. With its low-cost, long-term financing, C-PACER projects are repaid through an assessment on the property’s tax bill, which can be transferred with property ownership and, in select cases, extended to tenants. Properties like Flatiron Heights are using C-PACER financing to preserve historic buildings while adding energy efficiency improvements to modernize the property. Additionally, C-PACER financing can be utilized to finance the energy and resiliency costs of new construction.
"C-PACER is relatively new to Tennessee, making Flatiron Heights' project a groundbreaking achievement not only for the redevelopment of historic properties but also for the sustainable lending efforts at Pathway Lending. Since 2010, Pathway has deployed $73MM in capital for traditional energy efficiency and renewable energy projects which has saved over 91,000,000 KWH annually and over $9.8MM in annual cost savings. This C-PACER milestone in Chattanooga emphasizes Pathway’s commitment to support innovative projects that drive environmental sustainability and economic development across Tennessee."
“This innovative financing solution not only revitalizes our historic property at Flatiron Heights but also sets a precedent for sustainable development in Chattanooga,” said Dan LeVan, partner at Fisher Bay. “Partnering with Pathway Lending to lead the charge on the first C-PACER project in Chattanooga played a pivotal role in preserving this historic building while also adding modern energy efficiency upgrades.”