Nuveen Green Capital Breaks C-PACE Record With $290M Loan for Tampa Hotel

Nuveen Green Capital (NGC) has once again shown the grass is getting greener for the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) sector.

NGC closed the largest C-PACE transaction to date with a $290 million loan for Two Roads Development’s planned Pendry Hotel & Residences project in Downtown Tampa, Fla., the lender announced Monday. The clean energy lending arm of Nuveen, which closed the commercial real estate industry’s first rated C-PACE securitization in 2017, broke the previous record for the industry of $255.9 million set by Counterpointe SRE in July 2023.

The $290 million C-PACE loan was paired with a $230 million senior construction loan by Sculptor Capital Management for the 38-story riverfront development slated for completion in 2027 that will include 220 hotel rooms and 200 condominium units. It surpassed NGC’s previous largest loan of $220 million closed in fall 2024 for the recapitalization of San Francisco developer Jay Paul Company’s 19-story office building at 200 Park Avenue in Downtown San Jose, as CO first reported at the time.

“This historic milestone showcases the growing sophistication and scale of C-PACE financing, demonstrating its capacity to support major developments,” Ryan Doyle, senior director of originations at NGC, said in a statement. “By deploying C-PACE mid-construction, the sponsor achieved significant project savings while ensuring successful completion and positioning the asset for long-term success.” 

Doyle originated the loan with a NGC team deal consisting Brendan Moore and Tyler Amano. It marked the first C-PACE transaction in Tampa. 

Darien, Conn.-based NGC has been a pioneer of C-PACE financing since forming 10 years ago. It accounted for half the product’s national market share last year with more than $1.2 billion of volume.

The Tampa C-PACE loan enabled Two Roads to structure the financing with a flexible repayment structure that enabled it to fund the project in multiple tranches. Proceeds from the C-PACE loan will be used to fund measures for energy and water efficiency along with flood panels to protect against erosion risks from high water levels.

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com.