Loudoun County will continue to move forward with a Property Assessed Clean Energy Program that will help to aid in loans from private lenders to commercial property owners who want to invest in green-friendly projects.
Also known as PACE, supervisors voted unanimously on Jan. 18 to direct county staff to continue working on a plan to facilitate the program, which offers several benefits to owners that are not available in conventional commercial mortgage loans.
Once the logistics are ironed out, Loudoun County will be the second municipality in the state to adopt the PACE program if supervisors vote for it. Arlington County is the only municipality using the program, which it adopted in November.
With PACE, the borrower does not face a personal guarantee, generally a requirement for traditional commercial mortgage loans. In addition, the owner is not personally responsible for the loan should they decide to sell the property; the PACE loan will be transferred to the new property owner upon sale. The program also offers longer loan terms than the traditional commercial real estate loan, which typically is up to 25 years.
