On The Vine

St. Clair County's first new construction PACE project

Conveniently located across the street from the St. Clair Inn (a property that also received PACE financing in March 2018), the On The Vine building will provide visitors with additional amenities and shopping opportunities. The On The Vine property is planned to feature a coffee shop, spa and fitness facility, and retail space. This new efficient property is a great addition and counterpart to the revitalization of the historic St. Clair Inn property and shows that PACE can be a vital component of new energy efficient construction.

This mixed use new construction building will create an energy efficient addition to the City of St. Clair and will feature exciting advanced energy technologies such as a 30 kW roof-mount solar system, 100 kW energy storage system, and electric vehicle charging stations.

September 2019

Project Quick Stats

PACE District: St. Clair County
Property Owner: On The Vine, LLC
PACE Contractor: G-Energy
PACE lender: Twain Community Partners II
Amount Financed: $775,000
Net Savings: $183,465
Total Savings: $1,998,835
Energy Conservation Measures:

Roof and wall insulation
High efficiency HVAC and hydraulic elevator
Roof-mount solar with energy storage
Energy star windows and LED lighting
Electric vehicle charging stations

Project Term: 20 years

Impact: The On The Vine project will result in energy consumption equivalent to taking 670 cars off of the road each year, or eliminating 3,158 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.

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.

St. Clair County's elected leaders created a countywide PACE district in June 2017 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.

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