Harwood International’s Hotel Swexan Secures $8.5 Million for Sustainability Improvements 

The 22-story boutique Hotel Swexan at the corner of McKinnon and Moody streets was recently awarded $8.5 million from the Dallas Property Assessed Clean Energy program. 

This is the second clean energy grant for the Hotel Swexan, the city’s first boutique hotel developed by Harwood International. The moniker represents “Swiss hospitality meets Texan charm,” an homage to Harwood’s multigenerational Swiss-Texan family heritage. 

The PACE innovative financing initiative allows owners of commercial, industrial, and multifamily residential properties with five or more dwelling units to obtain low-cost, long-term loans for water conservation, energy-efficiency improvements, and renewable retrofits, according to the City of Dallas’ D Economy newsletter.

Property owners can access private, affordable, long-term financing, typically for 10 to 20 years, that is not available through traditional funding avenues.

PACE Financing for Hotel Swexan

In 2022, Hotel Swexan received nearly $40 million in PACE financing for mid-construction financing, which “allowed the developer to avoid the need for additional equity to cover cost overruns for high-efficiency energy and water-saving equipment,” the D Economy newsletter states. 

The additional $8.5 million in PACE financing will be used to implement new and finance previously constructed sustainable improvements to the building’s lighting and electrical systems. 

The PACE lender, PACE Equity, collaborated with developer Harwood International, according to D Economy. 

In 2016, Dallas was the first Texas city to implement a PACE program at no cost to taxpayers. The Dallas PACE program has facilitated a cumulative investment of more than $112 million in energy and water-saving improvements, approximately one-third of the total PACE investment in Texas. PACE projects also contribute to the goals of Dallas’ Comprehensive Environmental Climate Action Plan.