Navigating C-PACE: A New Financing Tool for Redevelopment
Category: On Demand
Member Price: $184
Non-Member Price: $230
Areas of Law: Environmental, Land Use, Local Government, Real Estate
Keynote
Moderator
- Anne S. Babineau, Esq.
- Wilentz Goldman & Spitzer, Woodbridge
- Christopher D. Hopkins, Esq.
- Wilentz Goldman & Spitzer, Woodbridge
Presenters
- Keith A. Bonchi, Esq.
- General Counsel, Tax Collectors & Treasurers Association of New Jersey
Goldenberg, Mackler, Sayegh, Mintz, Pfeffer, Bonchi & Gill, Northfield - David Freylikhman, Esq.
- Greenberg Traurig LLP
- Andres Garcia
- New Jersey Economic Development Authority
- Paul M. Lesniak
- President, Tax Collector & Treasurers Association of New Jersey
Tax Collector/City Treasurer, City of Elizabeth - Michael Suleta, Esq.
- Greenberg Traurig LLP, Philadelphia
Esteemed redevelopment attorney Anne Babineau has assembled a distinguished panel to present a detailed program on Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE), a financing tool briefly discussed at NJICLE’s 2026 Redevelopment Institute. Moderator Christopher Hopkins, a transactional attorney experienced in development financing, will lead the discussion on how C-PACE can be used to support new construction, retrofits, and resilience improvements through long-term financing repaid as a special assessment.
David Freylikhman and Michael Suleta will draw on experiences from jurisdictions where C-PACE style programs are actively relied upon, addressing key issues including mortgage lender consent, foreclosure concerns, senior lender protections, and use of escrows —tools to overcome the challenges C-PACE can present and to align program rules with project underwriting and execution timelines. Mr. Hopkins will also explore how C-PACE can strengthen a redevelopment capital stack by providing lower-cost, long-term, fixed-rate capital that reduces reliance on mezzanine debt or preferred equity and helps close financing gaps.
Andres Garcia of NJEDA will outline New Jersey’s broad eligible uses for which C-PACE proceeds may be available, the statutory framework, and examine projects where C-PACE applications are pending despite the requirement for prevailing wage. Finally, seasoned Tax Collector Paul Lesniak and Keith Bonchi, General Counsel of the Tax Collectors & Treasurers Association of NJ, will address the practical municipal considerations administering C-PACE, including the administrative, legal, and implementation issues involved in collection, enforcement, and coordination with existing local processes.
Whether your practice touches redevelopment, real estate finance, land use, or municipal law, this seminar will give you the foundation to navigate C-PACE with confidence. Register today!
Topics include:
- Types of projects that can be financed in New Jersey
- Understanding the NJEDA 2025 guidelines
- Case studies from other jurisdictions actively using programs like C-PACE
- Navigating the prevailing wage requirement
- NJEDA’s approval process
- Insight into the tax collector perspective
- Benefits for redevelopers and municipalities
- Key considerations and practice pointers for using C-PACE financing