Nuveen Green Capital Originates Record C-PACE Financing With $465M D.C. Deal

Nuveen Green Capital (NGC) has again set a record for sustainable real estate financing, this time shattering the previous record the firm hit last fall. 

The affiliate of real estate titan Nuveen originated the largest-ever Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing deal, less than four months after setting the previous record. The $465 million in debt backs part of a long-gestating, 15-story office-to-residential development in Washington, D.C., by Post Brothers, helmed by Matt and Michael Pestronk. Named the Geneva, the 532-unit conversion project will include 61 affordable units at 1825-1875 Connecticut Avenue NW, half a mile north of Dupont Circle. 

Philadelphia-based Post Brothers, which specializes in adaptive reuse projects, also landed a $110 million senior loan via credit-oriented investment firm Mavik Capital, bringing the most recent financing package to $575 million, and total project financing to $750 million to date. The Wall Street Journal first reported the new debt.

“The Geneva marks a major milestone for Post Brothers and for Downtown Washington, D.C.,” Matt Pestronk, Post Brothers’ president, said in a statement. “This project was made possible through a highly collaborative partnership with Mayor [Muriel] Bowser’s administration, the City of Washington, D.C., Mavik, and Nuveen Green Capital, as well as through the use of innovative tools like C-PACE financing. Together, we created a smart, efficient financing model that is not only tailored to Geneva, but scalable and repeatable for projects across the country.” 

The conversion project was among the first recipients of D.C.’s 20-year tax abatement via the city’s Housing in Downtown program, which incentivizes adaptive reuse projects. Bowser aims to add 15,000 new units to the city by 2028. Yet, the project sat more or less idle since receiving the abatement in early September of 2024, as the developers searched for more substantial financing. 

“When we launched Housing in Downtown, our goal was clear: support projects that turn vacant office space into housing and create a more vibrant, resilient, and thriving downtown,” Bowser said. “The Geneva delivers on that vision at an unprecedented scale and showcases how D.C. is leading the nation in office-to-residential conversions.”

C-PACE financing provides funds for commercial projects with energy efficiency features, such as renewable energy sources and water conservation. The financing is repaid via add-ons to a given property’s long-term tax bills, often allowing for bigger debt packages that help pay for renewable property attributes that lower operating costs. 

The Geneva, which will replace a pair of nine-story office towers in Northwest D.C., and also include 57,000 square feet of retail space, is expected to avoid emitting 1,514 metric tons of carbon emissions on a yearly basis, equivalent to about 500 cars. The operational carbon intensity of the mixed-use building will also be 47 percent lower than before its conversion, per NGC.

“This closing validates our thesis that C-PACE can provide attractive capital for large-scale developments while also driving value across a diverse set of project stakeholders,” Alexandra Cooley, NGC’s CEO and chief investment officer, said in a statement.

Securing the record debt package is a meaningful change of fortunes for Post Brothers’ D.C. operations. The developer lost its 301,000-square-foot conversion project at 2100 M Street NW to former lender AllianceBernstein in August, after a winding saga of foreclosure and back-and-forth auctions last year. AllianceBernstein ultimately sold the property to BXP in December for $55 million. BXP plans to demolish the existing building to make way for a 320,000-square-foot trophy office. 

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.