In Colorado Springs, Colorado, an old, closed elementary school has been retrofitted with a new heating system and efficient LED lighting. Now called Lincoln Center, it’s home to a bakery, brewery, barber, coffee shop, and other businesses.
Phillips: “The hallways … are where people sit to have coffee now. It’s just a really neat reuse of this property.”
Tracy Phillips is with the Colorado Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy or C-PACE program, which helped finance the property’s retrofits.
C-PACE programs, which exist in about 30 states, provide loans for the upfront cost of energy retrofits and improvements in commercial buildings — including retail spaces, apartment complexes, hospitals, and factories.
Investing in energy efficiency can help building owners save money over time on their energy bills. But the upfront cost can be prohibitive.
Phillips: “A lot of buildings owners just don’t have the funds to do this … and they’re on a narrow operating margin to begin with, so a lot of them just can’t afford it.”
So Phillips says programs like C-PACE, along with tax incentives and rebates, are important for helping facilitate projects that can reduce energy consumption — and give old buildings new life.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / Shannon Young / ChavoBart Digital Media
We help millions of people understand climate change and what to do about it. Help us reach even more people like you.