County Helps Dog Park & Bar Get Paws on Sustainability Funding
Published on December 12, 2023
Arlington County was the top dog in bringing together small business and sustainable energy investment in its second C-PACE project. The Arlington Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program is enabling Snouts & Stouts to make a series of sustainable energy upgrades. These improvements will allow for updates to the building’s façade, HVAC system, and water system.
Snouts & Stouts held its grand opening on Dec. 9, 2023, as the only indoor dog park and bar in Northern Virginia.
With the County acting as go-between, Snouts & Stouts building owner Anthony Henderson teamed with private capital provider Capital Bank. It’s the bank’s first C-PACE project.
Under C-PACE, owners of existing buildings can obtain financing for up to 100% of the cost of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation projects for up to 25 years. Arlington was the first county in Virginia to enact a C-PACE ordinance, launching the program in 2018 as part of the County’s Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy (AIRE).
Daniel Ramos, founder of Snouts & Stouts, learned about C-PACE after reaching out to Arlington Economic Development. "I saw the goal for this building and how we could work together on the energy programs. I was already initiating energy programs upgrades – such as better insulation and an all-electric HVAC system," said Ramos. "I saw this innovative public-private partnership program as a way to finance additional sustainability measures and improve the comfort of the space for my customers."
"Building owners play an integral role in advancing the Arlington community’s sustainability goals, and even mundane improvements such as adding insulation, properly weatherizing the building shell, or installing a heat pump can have transformative impacts on energy use," said County Board Chair Christian Dorsey. "This effort follows our first (and the Commonwealth’s first) successful C-PACE project, and is among the many actions taken to further goals in our Community Energy Plan."
Beyond existing structures, commercial property developers can also access C-PACE financing for up to 20 percent of a new building’s total eligible construction cost. To learn more about the C-PACE projects, contact the AIRE team.
About Arlington C-PACE
Arlington C-PACE is a County-sponsored program that enables owners of commercial and industrial buildings to use private sector money to finance energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water efficiency improvements to their property. The program can be used to finance both existing building retrofits and new construction projects. Spearheaded by AIRE, Arlington C-PACE advances several public policy goals as described in Arlington’s award-winning Community Energy Plan. Those goals include reducing energy costs, increasing renewable energy deployment, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and creating local jobs.
About SRS
Sustainable Real Estate Solutions (SRS) partners with state and local governments to administer C-PACE programs. Founded in 2010 by experienced commercial real estate and energy efficiency professionals, the company’s proprietary technology-enabled EPIC Platform streamlines the management of the data-intensive C-PACE technical and financial underwriting process. SRS’s Investor Confidence Project-credentialed quality assurance methodology has facilitated more than $475 million in C-PACE financing nationwide. SRS empowers C-PACE public-private partnerships across the country. The company is based in Trumbull, Conn.
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