New Markets Tax Credit Transactions Across the Nation

The New Markets Tax Credit program has been used to facilitate financing for a wide range of projects within eligible census tracts. The Department of Treasury released its November Report showing the programs investment results. Here are sample projects that recently secured financing supported by the New Markets Tax Credit Program: In Milwaukee, Wis., the Aloft Hotel recently became the first new hotel to be built downtown since 2001. The newly constructed 160-room hotel will have its grand opening on December 17, 2009. The $27.8 million hotel was built on a former parking lot that lies within a redevelopment area and will have 25 full-time employees upon opening with the goal of eventually having 35 to 40 full-time employees. The financing package included: state environmental cleanup grants totaling $825,000, city funding of $858,000 for a dock wall and public plaza, as well as an additional $278,000 for nearby street improvements. The project financing utilized $10 million in federal New Markets Tax Credits. In Laurel, Miss., Capturion Network, LLC is a company that sells, installs and services digital scoreboards for sports and entertainment venues nationwide. They recently obtained funding through New Markets Tax Credits to support the company’s continued growth, including the retention of 24 employees, with more jobs expected in the coming months. In Baltimore, Md., developers were able to take a building that formerly house the manufacturing operations of H.F. Miller and Sons tin box company and adapt it into a 40-unit affordable apartment community created specifically for educators. The property also features 34,000 square feet of office space and 1,000 square feet of retail that will be leased at affordable market rents to both health and human services and educator groups (major tenants include Teach for America and Catholic Charities). The $21.9 million project was abandoned for more than a decade before the reuse was made possible via New Markets Tax Credits in conjunction with federal and state historic tax credits and loans from the state of Maryland, the city of Baltimore as well as private financial institutions such as U.S. Bancorp and SunTrust Bank In Cleveland, Ohio, 30 apartments near Cleveland State University are ready for use in part because of $12 million in financing supported by the New Markets Tax Credit program. The financing included $4 million in state historic tax and federal historic tax credits as well as a $5.7 million bank loan from KeyBank using New Markets Tax Credits. The development arm of the Greater Cleveland Partnership provided $1.5 million in loans, Cuyahoga County provided a $1.1 million loan, and Cleveland lent the developers $800,000. Prior to this redevelopment the building had been used for ground-floor parking. In Cleveland, Ohio, the Cleveland Institute of Art fully funded the first phase of its $55 million expansion through the use of New Markets Tax Credits. The Institute is renovating the historic Joseph McCullough Center for the Visual Arts. The building, a former Ford Model T factory, is the first part of an expansion meant to bring the institute under one roof. The New Markets Tax Credits were combined with state and federal historic tax credits to allow renovating the historic building and help the project obtain certification as a green building. KeyBank and PNC have provided loans to the institute based on pledges, which will trickle in during the next few years and US Bank provided financing through the use of the tax credits. In Boulder Point, N.H., Speare Memorial Hospital recently constructed a $9.3 million, 32,500 square foot medical office building named the Speare Memorial at Boulder Point. The facility will be the new home for RehabFIT, Plymouth Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Clinic, Tenney Mountain Internal Medicine, White Mountain Eye Care, Oliver Drug and the Visiting Physician’s Suite. The project was funded by New Markets Tax Credits. In Saint Louis, Mo., the St. Louis Housing Authority recently moved into their new 37,197-square-foot headquarters which was designed with green (sustainable) features including energy efficient water, lighting, and cooling and heating systems. The building features a full-service National City Bank branch (now part of PNC) and retail space designed for a café. The $8.9 million project was financed through an innovative structure that leveraged SLHA capital funds, program income, and land sales proceeds and a forgivable loan from the Greater St. Louis Regional Empowerment Zone, with the New Markets Tax Credit Program financing provided by US Bancorp Community Development Corporation.