Nuveen Raises $1B+ in Latest C-PACE Lending Fund

Nuveen and affiliate Nuveen Green Capital, which provides sustainable commercial real estate financing solutions, have raised more than $1 billion in the first close of Nuveen CPACE Lending Fund IV. Total commitments for the fund series have now topped $3 billion since its inception three years ago.

The new capital commitments have already surpassed the third fund, which closed last year at $785 million, by more than 25 percent. Since its founding in 2015, the firm has originated more than $6 billion in C-PACE financing across securitizations.

NGC, known as Greenworks Lending before Nuveen acquired the firm in 2021, is a pioneer in Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy, or C-PACE, financing. The public-private financing program is administered at the state level and provides building owners and developers with low-cost, long-term private capital for energy efficiency, water efficiency and climate resiliency improvements, as well as new clean energy construction projects.

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The continued investor demand in NGC’s funds has been led by insurers, including Nuveen’s parent company, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America. TIAA has participated in each of NGC’s annual funds since 2023, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Joe Pursley, head of insurance, Americas, at Nuveen Green Capital, told Commercial Property Executive that life insurers are drawn to C-PACE for three key reasons, including offering high-quality collateral with long-term, fixed-rate cash flows that align well with insurers’ long-duration liabilities. He noted the demand the firm is seeing for Fund IV reinforces that C-PACE is becoming a durable, core allocation for insurance portfolios rather than a one-off commitment.

“It diversifies their long-duration portfolios beyond traditional allocations like corporate credit, private placements and infrastructure or real estate debt,” Pursley said.

Pursley noted C-PACE also “supports a long-term investment thesis around the global shift to a lower-carbon economy.” He said that is particularly relevant when investors are committing capital for 20- to 30-year horizons.

Alexandra Cooley, CEO and CIO of Nuveen Green Capital, told CPE the growth of the firm’s funds is driven by ongoing partnerships with select insurers who want an efficient way to allocate to C-PACE regularly.

“A large majority of the commitments for Fund IV came from existing investors,” Cooley said. “At the same time, we’re seeing increased awareness and demand from top-tier sponsors.”

Growth in fund commitments and C-PACE originations

The fund investments have been growing along with an increase in originations, including record-setting C-PACE financing transactions, and the scope of the C-PACE program. There are now active programs in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Several other states have enabling legislation for C-PACE. In 2025, the overall C-PACE financing market closed a record $3.7 billion in transactions, according to industry organization PACENation.

The size and diversity of the deals is also growing each year. In May, NGC originated a $43 million, 30-year, fixed-rate C-PACE loan for Plamondon Hospitality Partners to develop the Marriott Downtown Frederick at Carroll Creek, a 204-key, full-service hotel and conference center in Frederick, Md. The financing for energy efficiency and water conservation improvement was the largest C-PACE transaction in the state of Maryland.

Last week, NGC provided $281 million in C-PACE financing to Millennium Partners to recapitalize The Millennium Residences at Winthrop Center, the 317-unit condominium component of the downtown Boston mixed-use tower. It was the largest C-PACE financing to date in New England.

And earlier this year, NGC provided $465 million in C-PACE financing—the largest C-PACE deal in history—to Post Brothers for The Geneva, a $750 million office-to-residential project in Washington, D.C.

“The growth in C-PACE fund investments and record-setting originations are strongly correlated,” Cooley said. “The increasing acceptance and integration of C-PACE into commercial real estate financing, driven by its benefits to borrowers and attractive returns for lenders, have led to a significant increase in both the volume and size of C-PACE deals, and consequently, the capital flowing into this sector.”

Cooley noted the firm has more than doubled its investment in underwriting and asset management capacity since 2023. That provides increased transparency and focus for investors at the asset level, she added.

For the rest of 2026 and 2027, Cooley said she sees an opportunity to “capitalize on scarcity and dislocation for fund deployment. Traditional lenders are avoiding certain deals, not because of the underlying quality of the real estate, but due to their current exposure or thematic or structural reasons.”