Page 16 - NBIZ August 2020

these projects lack justification for the expense of bring-
ing these buildings back to life.
Butler Brothers Building The 1930 Plaza Hotel, Hilton’s first high-rise, was
Capital Stack vacant in downtown El Paso for 25 years. The utilization
of El Paso County’s TX-PACE program generated $9.2
million for energy and water-conserving infrastructure
improvements, freeing up capital that is now being
used to rejuvenate the historical landmark. Benefits
include revitalizing downtown El Paso, creating 161
permanent jobs and saving the hotel investors 1.5 million
kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity and 7.7 million gallons
of water while avoiding more than 800 tonnes of carbon
dioxide (CO2) annually.
TFNB Your Bank For Life provided the capital for the
Conventional Financing PACE Financing est shipping container reuse project in Texas. The $850,000
adaptive reuse of a 100-year-old brick garage and the larg-
mixed-use TX-PACE project in Waco will recoup its efficien-
cy investment through annual utility savings exceeding
271,000 kWh and 1.2 million gallons of water. Travis Kemp,
senior vice-president and chief lending officer, notes, “The
TX-PACE Program allowed us to provide a unique source
of funding to an already creative project. The partnership
between TFNB Your Bank For Life and Texas PACE Author-
ity enabled us to leverage this valuable program with one of
our local developers while also promoting energy efficiency
in the first TX-PACE project in McLennan County. We look
forward to more projects in the future.”
1225 North Loop—A Houston Example of Lower
Operating Costs While Incrasing Property Value
In 2017, the 1225 North Loop Building became the first
Butler Brothers Building (pictured below)
$23.9 M — Dallas, Texas Texas office building to use TX-PACE. The 1984 commercial
office high-rise had 35-year-old chillers controlled by an
The inclusion of $23.9 million in energy and water-saving measures antiquated system and inefficient lighting. Replacement
in the redevelopment capital stack of the historic Butler Brothers parts were costly and difficult to find, and ongoing reliabil-
Building demonstrates that there is a low-cost, long-term replace- ity issues were rampant. The substantial upfront outlay
ment to expensive equity-partner financing. checked management’s exploration of replacement options.

16 NBIZ ■ August 2020