The nonpartisan, nonpolitical Illinois Finance Authority PACE Program (“IFA PACE Program”) can accelerate private investment in PACE Projects (see below) in any county, city, village, or incorporated town throughout Illinois. Under the IFA PACE Program, counties and municipalities can avoid using their own time and resources to issue bonds or notes to fund PACE Projects. IFA has statewide authorization to issue bonds and notes to fund PACE Projects in any PACE area. IFA utilizes a standardized, statewide open indenture with each capital provider to lower legal and financing costs for eligible record owners of eligible properties. Counties and municipalities establishing the IFA PACE Program benefit by not incurring any related conduit debt compliance or accounting obligations. Moreover, counties and municipalities have no legal obligation to execute and deliver any assessment contract for a PACE Project if they are not satisfied.
The IFA PACE Program is administered by a newly organized component unit of IFA known as the C-PACE Open Market Initiative, which is a 501(c)(3) organization. Referred to as the PACE Area Administrator, it is the independent, neutral program administrator of the IFA PACE Program, and provides a fair and competitive, statewide open market C-PACE financing can be used by owners and developers to finance or refinance eligible improvements affixed to any privately-owned commercial, industrial, non-residential agricultural, or multi-family (of 5 or more units) property or any property owned by a not-for-profit in connection with renovations of existing buildings and new construction, in each case up to 25% of the value of the property. Eligible improvements generally include fixtures, products, systems, equipment, devices, and materials intended for energy efficiency, renewable energy, resiliency, or water use; electric vehicle charging stations are eligible improvements too. C-PACE financing is non-recourse to the record owner and assignable upon transfer of the property. C-PACE financing does not accelerate upon a default (payment or otherwise), permits terms of up to 40 years, and allows financing of up to 100% of all project and closing costs.
This webinar is for ISEA Business Members. Please sign into your ISEA account prior to registering. The Zoom information will be included in your confirmation email.
Presented by Brad Fletcher, Senior VP & Treasurer, Illinois Finance Authority
Brad Fletcher is Senior Vice President and Treasurer of IFA. Since 2010, Brad has managed traditional tax-exempt project financings from application to closing, effectively leading commercial and industrial, higher education and nonprofit, and local government borrowers and their respective banks or underwriters to successful conduit debt issuance outcomes.
A strategic and efficient public finance professional, Brad developed and implemented the nonpartisan, nonpolitical Illinois Finance Authority PACE Program (“IFA PACE Program”) to accelerate private investment in PACE Projects in any county, city, village, or incorporated town throughout Illinois. The IFA PACE Program makes Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (“C PACE”) financing available for owners and developers of commercial properties, at no cost to the county or municipality establishing the program. The IFA PACE Program is administered by a component unit of the Illinois Finance Authority known as the C PACE Open Market Initiative, which is a 501(c)(3) organization. The goals of the C PACE Open Market Initiative are to spur investment in energy efficiency and water conservation, and to stimulate growth of renewable energy and resilient building design throughout Illinois. Brad regularly discusses PACE Project opportunities and best practices with industry stakeholders and economic development officials of local governments to ensure Illinois is a national leader in the C PACE financing market. Since November 2019, IFA has issued bonds or notes in the aggregate principal amount of approximately $78.35 million to finance qualified PACE Projects under Brad’s leadership without relying on any appropriation of taxpayer or ratepayer dollars to support the State agency’s mission or operations.
Brad earned his undergraduate degree in Public Policy Studies from DePaul University (2007) and his Master of Business Administration in Finance from Saint Xavier University (2021).
