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St. Louis MAC preps for $2.4 million PACE retrofit

Saint Louis, Mo. — The Missouri Athletic Club is beginning a $2.4 million energy-efficiency retrofitting of its historic downtown clubhouse through the City’s “Set the PACE St. Louis” clean-energy financing program, officials announced today.

Missouri Athletic Club (MAC)
Missouri Athletic Club (MAC)

The project is expected to provide $200K in annual savings and will include improvements to the heating and cooling systems, among other improvements.

“The City’s stock of old buildings cannot keep up with demands for energy efficiency without some major retrofits, which can be expensive,” said Mayor Francis Slay.  “We created Set the PACE St. Louis to ease the burden and encourage savings – both financially and environmentally – for business owners to use.”

The Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing program to fund energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation upgrades to older buildings. The program can pay for heating and cooling systems, new lighting, solar panels, insulation, water pumps, and more for nearly any eligible commercial property. The program is levied as a special tax assessment and therefore is treated as an off-balance sheet payment, as opposed to new debt.

Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) under construction
Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) under construction

The MAC building opened its doors in 1916, it can be found on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the few pieces of property on the list not to change its primary purpose or use in nearly 100 years.

“Our downtown clubhouse was the first building west of the Mississippi to have air conditioning, and it still has those original, custom-built air handlers,” said Wally Smith, general manager of the MAC.  “When we were made aware that we could pay for upgrading our systems with energy savings, it really was a ‘no-brainer’ for us.  Set the PACE St. Louis fulfilled a need that’s going to ensure the preservation of this City landmark for generations to come.”