PROVIDENCE, R.I. –
Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank (the Infrastructure Bank) announced the closing of a $2.5 million loan with the Providence Marriott Downtown today. Through the Bank’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program, the hotel, at 1 Orms Street, installed a state-of-the-art, highly efficient HVAC system along with new controls and LED lighting throughout the facility. The comprehensive upgrades will reduce the hotel’s annual energy expense by almost 40% when compared to their current usage.
“RI C-PACE financing has helped twenty-six buildings make upgrades and offset their energy costs,”
said Jeffrey R. Diehl, CEO of Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank
. “The Providence Marriott project is one of the C-PACE program’s largest loans to-date.”
“The PACE funds helped us install state-of-the-art HVAC and lighting systems that provide our guests with superior guestroom comfort,”
said Richard Jabara, CEO of Meyer Jabara Hotels
. “This work is part of our broader “re-imagination” of the hotel, bringing it to the latest Marriott standards and incorporating features our guests desire including farm-to-table food options, an expanded coffee shop hosting local roasters and electric vehicle (“EV”) charging stations. The associated environmental benefits of the PACE funded improvements are also very important to us and to our many valued individual and corporate guests. We are grateful for the assistance provided by the Infrastructure Bank, Thompson Partners, our consultant that developed the PACE project and secured third party financing, Greenworks Lending that provided the funding and National Grid for providing technical assistance and incentive funds.”
The Providence Marriott Downtown is a full-service hotel. It has been serving local organizations and transient guests since its opening in 1975. The hotel contains 354 guest rooms, extensive meeting space, a ballroom, an on-site salon and spa and a guest favorite in-door and outdoor pool with a pool-side bar. The hotel is also looking forward to the opening of a new restaurant.
C-PACE helps commercial and industrial property owners lower their energy costs through financing for energy efficiency upgrades and the installation of renewable energy systems. Projects eligible for C-PACE financing include efficiency measures such as lighting, insulation, heating and cooling systems, and renewable energy projects in addition to other related construction projects.
