QLICI Awards
New Markets Tax Credits in the News
August 3, 2022
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.
News
Diversity of NMTC Investments
On July 8, 2022, the QLICI of the Year Award recipients were announced to recognize the excellence of community development entities (CDEs) across four categories: Metro, Nonmetro, Operating Business, and Real Estate. This year’s winners cover a wide range of projects across the country. The winners in each category are listed below.
Metro: U.S. Bancorp Community Development Entity; Lendistry; Building America CDE Inc; New Markets Support Co.
Nonmetro: U.S. Bancorp Community Development Entity
Operating Business: The Rose Urban Green Fund; DV Community Investment
Real Estate: Cinnaire; Indianapolis Redevelopment CDE; PNC Community Partners Inc.
Congratulations to all of the winners! To learn more about any of these CDEs and their projects, check out the award announcement here.
CDFI Fund pauses certification applications
New CDFI certification applications will no longer be accepted from October 1, 2022 to April 2, 2023. This six month pause will be used to implement new application and reporting tools, and the updated versions of the application, annual certification and data collection report will be released April 3, 2023. To keep comply with certifications, organizations must comply with all CDFI Fund awards reporting requirements through the six month hiatus. To learn more about this process, check out the CDFI Fund’s FAQs about its upcoming blackout period.
Projects
Indoor sports complex in Dubuque
The City of Dubuque, IA plans to construct a new indoor sports complex with two different concepts: one that focuses on sports and another that also houses arts and entertainment spaces. However, the project has yet to be approved by the Dubuque City Council as the cost of this facility may be roughly $161 million. To learn more about potential costs, the City completed a feasibility study in which consultants evaluated the plans for the facility and opportunities to fund it. For example, the study focuses on potential investment from federal historic preservation tax credits ($25.8 million), state historic preservation tax credits ($29 million), and New Market Tax Credits ($41.4 million).
UB Community Development, LLC recently announced that it will invest $42.5 million in NMTCs to fund the construction of a wood pellet plant in Epes, AL. This plant, run by Enviva, will be the largest wood pellet plant in the world, and will provide consistent results and meet energy needs as a more renewable alternative to fossil fuels. By constructing and operating the plant, Enviva plans to create 100 full time positions and at least 400 direct construction jobs, which comes at an ideal time as the closure of an Alabama paper mill led to the loss of 1,000 direct jobs. Enviva’s facility will revitalize the former Mannington Mills wood flooring plant, a facility whose shuttering resulted in 150 lost jobs. To learn more about Enviva, visit the company website here. To learn more about UB Community Development, click here.
Morgan State University, a historically black college, spearheaded the Civil Rights movements in the local community with a protest to desegregate the Northwood Theatre in Northwood Plaza in 1963. This protest led to the arrest of over 415 students. Now, Northwood Plaza consists of a retail center that serves university students and the community of northeast Baltimore. The plaza was renovated with the help of a Black-owned bank, Harbor Bank of Maryland, which provided $20 million in NMTC investment, and both the lead firm and the entire construction firm are Black-owned. The new plaza will open in August or September of 2022 and will be home to many Black-owned businesses. To learn more about the new Northwood Commons, check out its progress here.
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.