New Jersey communities are under pressure to do more with less: modernize aging building stock, attract and retain employers, reduce operating costs for local institutions, and harden critical properties against flooding, heat, and severe storms. The Garden State Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Program offers counties and municipalities a highly pragmatic way to accelerate these outcomes—by mobilizing private capital for energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, and resiliency upgrades, repaid as a special assessment on the property tax bill (typically over 10–30 years).
Unlike many economic development tools, C-PACE does not require local appropriations. Municipalities are not funding projects; they are enabling a repayment mechanism that supports private investment in local buildings.
Why C-PACE functions as “economic development,” not just “energy financing”
When communities treat C-PACE as a discrete clean-energy program, adoption tends to be slower and more fragmented. When they treat it as a redevelopment and competitiveness tool, the value proposition becomes clearer:
- Business retention and attraction: Energy upgrades can lower operating costs, improving competitiveness for existing businesses and helping attract new ones. (NJEDA)
- Job creation and local contracting: Projects drive construction activity and can support longer-term employment depending on project type. (NJEDA)
- Higher-quality redevelopment outcomes: C-PACE can finance up to 100% of eligible retrofit costs and can support a portion of the capital stack for certain new construction or major rehabs—enabling better building systems (e.g., high-performance envelopes, geothermal, solar, stormwater measures) that otherwise get value-engineered out. (NJPACE)
- Resilience and risk reduction: Resiliency measures protect owners and communities from increasingly frequent and severe weather events. (NJEDA)
- Transferability and durability: The assessment obligation attaches to the property and can transfer upon sale, aligning repayment with the useful life of improvements. (NJEDA)
NJPACE’s mission is specifically to accelerate C-PACE as a community development tool—supporting municipalities in leveraging the program and helping owners/developers source best-fit financing. (NJPACE)
A step-by-step municipal framework: using C-PACE for redevelopment, resiliency, and cleaner communities
Step 1 — Define a local “C-PACE redevelopment agenda” (60–90 minutes of staff time)
Start with a short list of priority outcomes that match existing plans and pain points:
- Downtown / corridor redevelopment
- Conversions (e.g., underutilized retail, older offices)
- Industrial competitiveness and energy cost reduction
- Nonprofit and institutional upgrades (schools, houses of worship, hospitals)
- Flood/heat resilience for critical properties and community anchors
This is the moment to translate “clean energy” into the language of ratables, business vitality, vacancy reduction, infrastructure resilience, and quality-of-life.
Step 2 — Identify the buildings that matter (a lightweight target list)
Using assessor records and local knowledge, create a short “Top 25–50” property list by category:
- Large energy users (warehouses, manufacturers, big-box, multifamily 5+ units)
- Older building stock with predictable retrofit needs
- Planned redevelopment sites (including brownfields or major rehabs)
- Community anchors (hospitals, schools, nonprofits, faith institutions) (NJPACE)
The goal is not a perfect dataset; it is a repeatable pipeline.
Step 3 — Package C-PACE as a standard option in your redevelopment workflow
Integrate a simple trigger into how projects move through local processes:
- Pre-application / concept meetings: “Have you evaluated C-PACE eligibility for efficiency, renewables, water, and resilience measures?”
- Redevelopment RFPs: Encourage respondents to propose a high-performance scope supported by long-term financing.
- Planning/Zoning touchpoints: Provide an informational handout and a referral to NJPACE for technical and financing support.
Municipalities already “touch” projects multiple times; C-PACE becomes powerful when it is embedded in those touchpoints rather than treated as a standalone program.
Step 4 — Reduce friction: clarify municipal roles and the “administrative lift”
Under Garden State C-PACE, municipalities approve the special assessment lien once the owner has secured financing, and the assessment is collected via the property tax process. Local government can also play an outreach role to ensure participation. (NJPACE)
The key is to establish a clear internal path: who receives inquiries, who coordinates, and how referrals are made.
Step 5 — Use C-PACE to upgrade the quality of redevelopment (not just fund it)
C-PACE is especially valuable when it finances measures that improve long-term performance and resilience:
- High-efficiency HVAC and controls
- Envelope improvements
- Solar and storage where viable
- Water conservation
- Floodproofing, stormwater and other resiliency measures (NJPACE)
This is where C-PACE becomes a “community outcomes” tool: better buildings, lower emissions, lower utility burdens, and reduced climate risk—without a municipal capital budget.
Step 6 — Build a local C-PACE project pipeline (quarterly cadence)
A practical cadence looks like:
- Quarterly stakeholder roundtable (municipality/county + chamber/EDA + key property owners + contractors)
- Two project prospects advanced per quarter into feasibility and financing conversations
- One public success story per quarter (even small wins compound awareness)
Template: A C-PACE Opportunity Snapshot
Local priorities and planning context
- Sustainability / climate commitments: [insert]
- Current master plan, redevelopment plan, hazard mitigation plan, resilience initiatives: [insert]
- Key redevelopment corridors or districts: [insert]
High-leverage property categories for C-PACE
- Top targets: [multifamily / light industrial / downtown mixed-use / nonprofits / etc.]
- Typical upgrade needs: [HVAC, envelope, stormwater, electrification readiness, solar, etc.]
Near-term “C-PACE pipeline” candidates (illustrative)
- 3–5 buildings or project types that match local goals: [insert]
How the municipality can activate C-PACE in 90 days
- Appoint a C-PACE point person (economic development / construction office / business administrator)
- Publish a one-page “C-PACE for local property owners” explainer on the municipal website
- Co-host a virtual briefing for property owners, developers, and local lenders
- Select 3 candidates and refer them to NJPACE for a feasibility + financing pathway
Invitation: let’s map C-PACE to your community’s specific needs
If you are a county or municipal leader in New Jersey and want to use C-PACE as a strategic tool for redevelopment, business vitality, resilience, and a cleaner built environment, we invite you to schedule a videoconference with NJPACE. We will review your community’s priorities, identify high-leverage property types and candidate projects, and outline a practical pathway for launching a C-PACE project pipeline aligned with your redevelopment and sustainability goals. (NJPACE)