Contact: Shawn Uhlman, PDC, 503-823-7994
September 09, 2015
The Portland Development Commission has approved a new program that will allow PDC to provide loans to owners undertaking energy efficient retrofits of commercial buildings. PDC will administer the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE) Program on behalf of Multnomah County, which approved the program and PDC’s role as administrator earlier in September.
CPACE will be a two-year pilot using tax increment funds to support up to 10 projects in the Downtown Waterfront, Gateway Regional Center, Interstate Corridor, Lents Town Center, North Macadam, or River District urban renewal areas. During the pilot period, PDC and County staff will develop an approach that provides firms designated as Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), and Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) an early entry advantage within the program.
PDC Executive Director Patrick Quinton said, “With CPACE loans, we hope to remove a financial barrier to investment in energy efficiency while we also take steps to create wealth creation opportunities for construction firms owned by people from underrepresented populations.”
Multnomah County Commissioner Jules Bailey said, “Multnomah County is excited to partner with PDC to develop a much needed tool to increase the resiliency of our community. PDC brings a unique set of skills and ability to administer the program and we look forward to working with them.”
