Nuveen Green Capital, an affiliate of global asset manager Nuveen, has locked in its largest sum yet for its green financing fund. 

Nuveen CPACE Lending Fund IV closed its fourth round with more than $1B in capital commitments, it announced Tuesday. With the new infusion, the fund, which was launched in 2023 and does yearly raises, has brought in more than $3B. Contributors include Nuveen’s parent company, the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, and insurance companies. 

Commercial property assessed clean energy loans, or C-PACE loans, provide financing to environmentally friendly projects. 

The loans are deployed at a state level and offer fixed-rate, long-term loans that can be used for sustainability and energy-efficiency upgrades, refinancing, climate resilience and ground-up construction projects. 

About 60% of Nuveen's C-PACE loans go toward new construction projects. The other 40% is deployed into recapitalization deals. 

One of the goals for Nuveen's fund is to fill a financing gap that traditional bank lenders like Bank OZK have left as they reduce commercial real estate exposure. The bank is known for being one of the biggest construction lenders but has reversed course in recent quarters to reduce losses on CRE projects. 

C-PACE momentum has accelerated over the past couple of years. What was once a niche program has become a preferred source of funding with favorable terms for large-scale developments. A record $3.7B in C-PACE financing was deployed in 2025, a 53% year-over-year surge, according to nonprofit PACENation. Last year’s volume is roughly a quarter of all C-PACE originations since the program’s founding in 2009.

Nuveen’s track record illustrates the increased interest. In addition to the $1B fundraise being its biggest close yet, NGC closed on $1.4B in capital commitments last year. In contrast, it closed on $75M in 2017.

“So that shows the increased institutional investor demand, which also enables us to go to market with attractive financing for these institutional borrowers,” NGC CEO Ali Cooley told Bisnow in February. 

Last year, Nuveen Green Capital closed $2.1B in loan originations, nearly double its $1.2B volume the year before.

One newer recipient of NGC’s fund is a 691-foot mixed-use tower in Boston. Last week, the tower’s owner, Millennium Partners, received a shiny new $281M loan from Nuveen Green Capital through Massachusetts’ version of the C-PACE program, the largest-ever loan of its kind in New England.