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 deal is a representation of C-PACE’s evolution from niche financing tool to a mainstream CRE finance solution for projects such as this one which had significant interest from other debt sources, Chris Lawton, head of originations  for NGC, said in a statement. “This record-breaking transaction reinforces our position as industry pioneers that are driving the growth of C-PACE.”

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

Lawton noted that NGC has originated more than $4 billion since its founding 10 years ago and were roughly 50 percent of the entire C-PACE market in 2024. The Darien, Conn.-based firm recently closed its third C-PACE fund with commitments of $785 million of commitments.

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.