Petros PACE Finance Winding Down: Sources 

A trailblazer in the growth of Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) lending is powering down.

Petros PACE Finance, which originated New York City’s first C-PACE deal in 2021, has halted its roughly $2 billion loan portfolio with term sheets for new deals suspended since early April, sources told Commercial Observer. 

The Austin, Texas-based lender, which was acquired in early 2022 by Apollo Global Management subsidiary Athene Holdings, has shed most of its staff with only a “skeleton crew” of around 10 people remaining, sources said. 

Commercial Mortgage Alert first reported the downsizing, reporting it was part of a plan to merge Petros into Apollo’s broader commercial lending business. 

But Apollo put the brakes on Petros’ C-PACE activities following a disappointing past year in which it underwrote less than $400 million in volume, according to sources. 

The remaining Petros staff has been tasked with managing the portfolio for loans already in repayment, with other C-PACE lenders now bidding on their unfunded term sheets and buying loans that were funded but with future draw requests, according to sources. 

The potential fall of Petros marks a distinct pivot for the lender, which closed a then-record $153 million C-PACE loan in October 2022 for the Black Desert luxury resort in Utah. It also originated New York City’s first C-PACE financing with an $89 million loan in June 2021 for 111 Wall Street, also a record transaction at the time for the financing vehicle. 

Petros underwent a leadership change last summer when Kevin McMeen of Midcap Financial, an Apollo affiliate, assumed the president and CEO role from Mansoor Ghori, who co-founded the firm with Jim Stanislaus in 2013. Ghori and Stanislaus transitioned into vice chairman roles from July 1 to Dec. 31, 2025. 

McMeen, who co-founded MidCap’s real estate group in 2008, is still with Petros following its series of cuts, according to sources. The small staff in place consists of mostly asset managers, but two originators were kept on by Apollo, sources said. 

The weakening of Petros’ C-PACE lending business marks a stark contrast with overall momentum for the lending strategy, with volume rising 65 percent to $3.6 billion last year. C-PACE financing has traditionally been used by property owners to finance upgrades for energy efficiency or resiliency measures, but has lately also been utilized for new construction and renovation projects. 

“It is surprising that this is being taken of the table when the market is growing,” said a source alluding to Apollo’s decision with Petros. 

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management, struck in January to sell its entire $9 billion commercial real estate loan portfolio to Athene. 

Petros and Apollo did not immediately return requests for comment.

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