Bayview PACE announced it will be awarding $6 million in construction funding for the Mesa Verde senior living community in Durango via Colorado’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Program.
C-PACE enables owners of eligible commercial and industrial buildings to finance up to 100% of energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation eligible improvements, according to Region 9 Economic Development.
Mesa Verde is the project of Carson City, Nevada-based Mission Senior Living, a developer, operator and owner of senior living communities across Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Montana.
In 2022, the 124-unit senior living center proposed for the Three Springs subdivision came one step closer to becoming a reality when Durango City Council approved preliminary plans for the project.
The 105,000-square-foot facility will offer 92 assisted/transitional living units featuring studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, and 32 memory care studio-units. Amenity spaces will include multiple dining rooms, exercise facilities, a beauty salon and barber shop, library, activity rooms, computer room, theater auditorium and a coffee shop.
The center will also have 24-hour staffing, including wellness and activities directors, an integrated nurse-call system and a community bus.
“City of Durango is great to me and great there's a lot going on. There's a lot of outdoor activities and a big retirement community there. A lot of the older population is under served as far as assisted living facilities are concerned. There's really only two in the area,” said Jeff Klar, Vice President of Bayview PACE.
Klar said a majority of Bayview Pace’s funding will mostly go toward the energy efficient aspect of the project. This would include insulation, HVAC, windows, roofing, plumbing, doors and other soft costs, he said.
However, because the state of Colorado allows PACE funding to go toward building resiliency, which means funding can go toward structural components as well. Bayview PACE Senior Vice President Anne Hill said this usually covers protection against natural disasters like a wildfire.
C-PACE benefits the developer on these projects because it is designed to be a long-term low interest form of financing that can be used to acquire property at any time.
“Typically, the terms are 20 to 30 years with interest rates falling in the 7-8% range. We're in a high interest environment right now as most of the world knows, so PACE provides a great alternative source of capital to get a more affordable piece of your capital structure at a lower cost,” Klar said.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
