Grace Senior Living

Oakland County's Senior Living Facility Integrates Energy and Water Efficiency in New Construction

Southeast Michigan’s aging population has continued to expose the need for more adequate housing and healthcare facilities. By utilizing PACE financing, the development of Grace Senior Living in Oakland County will play an important role in helping to better accommodate the needs of the senior community.

The site of Grace Senior Living will be converted into a beautiful, high quality senior living community with 60 assisted-living units, and 20 memory care units. By utilizing PACE to finance highly efficient HVAC, water, and lighting systems, as well as high quality building insulations, the PACE project at Grace Senior Living will generate significant financial and energy savings along with comfortable living spaces for future residents.

All Parties involved demonstrate that environmental responsibility and economic viability can go hand in hand, setting a wonderful example to others in the industry to embrace sustainable practices for a brighter future.

April 2024

Project Quick Stats

PACE District: Oakland County
Property Owner: JBD Grace Rochester, LLC
PACE Contractor: Bernhard and Westhaven Builders
PACE lender: PACE Equity, LLC
Amount Financed: $5,100,513
Total Savings: $3,583,868
Energy Conservation Measures:

LED Lighting
Building Envelope
Plumbing
HVAC
Windows

Project Term: 25 years

Impact: The PACE project at Grace Senior Living is expected to save 524 metric tons of C02, 11,523,250 kWh of electricity, and 49,543,050 gallons of water over the span of the project.

Lean & Green Michigan

Lean & Green Michigan^TM helps commercial, industrial and multi-family property owners take advantage of PACE to finance energy projects, eliminate waste and save money through long-term financing solutions that make energy projects profitable. Lean & Green Michigan^TM is a public-private partnership that works with local governments, contractors, property owners, and lenders to invigorate Michigan’s PACE statute with a market-based approach to energy finance and economic development.

Project Partners

PACE Financing

Commercial building owners spend $200 billion per year on utilities, yet 30% of this is waste. The energy projects that could make these properties efficient often require significant up-front capital and take years to achieve profitability. Commercial loans typically have a tenor of 3-5 years, making the annual repayment greater than the energy savings. PACE changes all this by allowing property owners to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects via a property tax special assessment.

Oakland County's elected leaders created a countywide PACE district in November 2016 by joining the statewide Lean & Green Michigan PACE program. Since the County will enforce the PACE assessment just like any other property tax obligation, lenders feel secure in providing fixed-interest loans with terms of up to 25 years. The result is 100% up front financing to facilitate energy-saving projects. In addition, these projects create good jobs, and communities upgrade their building stock, increasing the local tax base over time.

← Return to Case Studies