Lakota Tech HS
New Markets Tax Credits in the News
December 29, 2021
The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program is a federal financial program developed by the United States Department of the Treasury to incentivize community development using federal tax credits allocated by private investors in disadvantaged and distressed communities. In this biweekly blog, LifeCity will discuss key developments related to the NMTC Program.
This week, we discuss four ongoing projects that are being funded in part by New Market Tax Credits.
Projects
In the Sharswood neighborhood of Philadelphia, a new shopping center that will create 400 jobs was just granted $2.1 million from the state legislature towards its $52 million price tag. An additional $28.5 million of the funding is coming from NMTCs. These are being provided by Philadelphia Industrial Corp, Commonwealth Cornerstone Group, an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, and Capital One Bank. The development, which will be completed next year, will include a bank, supermarket, restaurant, urgent care center and apartments.
High school students on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota are receiving a more meaningful education since the opening of Lakota Tech High School in August 2020. A recent article detailed the introduction of Native American culture and professional skills into the curriculum. Most of the students in the school district are Native American, so this addition has many students feeling more connected to the school and hopefully more likely to graduate. U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation and Dakotas America, LLC both invested NMTCs in this project for a total of $23.5 million. It will be exciting to see the future impact of Lakota Tech on this community.
A housing development fund created by the St. Louis Board of Alderman is creating hope for increased development and mortgage activity in the future, ideally reversing a trend by mortgage lenders to avoid doing business in certain areas of the city. The St. Louis Development Corporation is using NMTCs to fund loans, construction, and rehabilitations. This is the first time that the CDE is using NMTCs for housing development, and they plan to announce a developer by February.
In Lamar County, Texas, Delco Trailers recently closed on a new manufacturing facility with the help of NMTCs from CDEs First Financial Bank, Rural Development Partners, and Waveland Community Development. This investment will add 300 well-paying jobs that will boost the economy of the whole community. The investors were able to calculate that $140 million will be created because of the facility in the next 10 years.
These inspiring projects and more are underway across the US. LifeCity specializes in impact assessments and third-party validation services for CDEs engaged in NMTC-financed projects. As a third-party, we help CDEs and other companies measure, manage, track, and report their impact to ensure a credible and transparent message. Our services are available across all stages of the NMTC allocation process and provide personalized impact reports and videos that support clients, projects, and communities.