From a grocery wholesaler in 1916 to Mautz Paint Co. in the late 1960s, the property across from Breese Stevens Field in Madison is now home to Hotel Indigo. This boutique hotel visibly pays tribute to its roots and the Madison area. Although not as easy to see, but still very important, is the hotel's commitment to energy efficiency.

Open for nearly a year and a half, the five-story building features 144 guest rooms, 96 of which are located in the former Mautz Paint warehouse. The rooms, hallways and common spaces are filled with historic reminders, such as displays of old paintbrushes and photos of paint rollers. A wooden Mautz paint sign from the company's warehouse now hangs over the front desk at Hotel Indigo. Madison's biking culture and the East Washington corridor also are featured in photos. Murals highlight Madison-area notables like architect Frank Lloyd Wright and Madison-born novelist and playwright Thornton Wilder.

Before Hotel Indigo opened its doors to guests, a great deal of planning was done to ensure the facility would be energy efficient. It began with the decision to repurpose and add to an existing facility rather than tear it down and build from scratch. 

"Rehabbing the Mautz building was a great way to preserve the history of the area," explained Zach Gray, Hotel Indigo's General Manager. "Maintaining elements from the original structure was important. This includes the brick on the outside as well as some of the interior doors and concrete floor. Additionally, there are original columns throughout the entire building. We developed different room floor plans to work around them."

Hotel Indigo worked with MGE and FOCUS ON ENERGY® to incorporate energy-saving technologies, such as LED lighting and high-efficiency heating equipment. The lighting and heating combined are saving the hotel $20,000 per year in energy costs. A nearly $17,000 incentive from Focus on Energy helped offset the investment in this energy-efficient equipment.

"We evaluated various heating systems and ultimately went with one that was significantly more expensive," said John Kothe, one of the developers. "It made sense as a long-term investment and will pay for itself over time in energy savings."

Additional energy-saving features included:

• Replacing all single-pane windows with more efficient historic replica options with specialized glass to reduce traffic noise.
• Adding aluminum window wall glazing systems.
• Installing an air-infiltration system.
• Replacing the roof and adding insulation.

PACE financing

Hotel Indigo received a $1.5 million Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loan to help incorporate energy-saving strategies while maintaining the historic look of the building. PACE enables property owners to obtain low-cost, long-term loans for energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements. Projects financed with PACE can generate positive cash flow upon completion with no up-front cost to property owners. This eliminates financial barriers that can prevent revitalizing aging properties.

"PACE is a great program because it helps fill the equity gap. It really pushed us to see where we could improve on energy efficiency," Kothe said. "The energy-efficient strategies incorporated at Hotel Indigo are expected to save the hotel about $2.7 million over 20 years. That's a good return on the $1.5 million of financing."

Hotel Indigo was the first business in Dane County to take advantage of PACE financing. See PACE Wisconsin to learn more about this financing opportunity and how it could help with your energy-saving projects. 

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