Historic Tax Credits

$8.13 Million Federal

$4.95 Million State

New Markets Tax Credits

$5 Million

Total Project Cost

$43.8 Million

Project Partner

City of Middletown

Impact

Childcare Services, Social Services

History

A Regional Railroad

Constructed between 1892 and 1893, the New York, Ontario & Western Railway Station stands as one of Middletown’s most significant historic landmarks. Designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style by prominent railroad architect Bradford Lee Gilbert, the station served both as a passenger terminal and as the principal offices of the Ontario & Western Railway. Expansions in 1904 and 1920, designed by local architect David Canfield, reflected the railroad’s growth and introduced new architectural elements while preserving the building’s commanding presence.  

For more than six decades, the station played a central role in Middletown’s economic and civic life, anchoring the city’s connection to regional transportation networks. After passenger service ended in 1957, the building saw a series of adaptive uses before falling vacant following a fire in 2004. Despite years of deterioration, the station has retained its defining historic character and remains a powerful symbol of Middletown’s railroad heritage.

Head Start at the Station
Revitalization Efforts

Head Start at the Station

Once complete, the historic Ontario & Western Railway Station will consolidate Head Start and other childcare programming operated by the Regional Economic Community Action Program (RECAP) that is currently spread across two leased locations in Middletown. Today, RECAP serves 136 Head Start children in facilities housed within active churches that cannot effectively support the needs of children, families, or staff. These two locations will be relocated and expanded at the Project, enabling RECAP to serve additional students while improving the quality of its services. 

The redeveloped facility will provide larger classrooms with accessible bathrooms, space for disability services, adequate storage, private offices and meeting rooms, a separate parent area, a large-group training space, an indoor gross-motor space, and ADA-compliant access throughout. Outdoor improvements are anticipated to include three preschool environments: an accessible playground, an active playground, and an outdoor classroom with a tricycle track, art studio, and dramatic play stage.

Community Impact

Filling a Gap

The Project will significantly expand and strengthen early childhood and family services in Middletown by consolidating RECAP’s two existing Head Start locations into a single, purpose-built facility. Currently, RECAP serves 136 children ages 3–5 across leased, suboptimal sites. At the Project, RECAP will increase preschool enrollment to 146 children annually and add two new programs: one serving infants and toddlers ages 6 weeks to 3 years with an estimated enrollment of 40 children, and another serving children ages 5 and older with an estimated enrollment of 36 children. 

The new facility will allow RECAP to provide full day Head Start programming to 100% of children ages 3–5, compared to current

operations where 62 children are enrolled in part day sessions and 74 in full day sessions. All enrolled children will receive additional services, including early childhood substance abuse prevention, in class mental health support, vision and health screenings, and developmental screening. 

The Project will also expand services for families, increasing adult education and asset building services, such as financial education and debt counseling, from 124 to 135 adults annually. Onsite operations will support about 73 fulltime equivalent jobs (41 retained and 32 created), with 99% of positions paying a Living Wage or higher and offering comprehensive benefits.

Children Served

222 Annually

Adult Education Services

135 Adults/Families Annually

Historic Space Restored

26,400 Square Feet

Jobs Supported

41 Retained & 32 Created

Population Served

90% From Low-Income Households

NTCIC & Progress

Financing

NTCIC provided a $5 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation, as well as an equity investment in the $13 million federal and state Historic Tax Credits generated by the Project. These investments supported the rehabilitation of the Ontario & Western Railway Station and its conversion into a community serving childcare facility. 

In addition to NTCIC’s NMTC allocation, the Project leveraged an additional $7 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocation from Empire State New Market Corporation, as well as more than $30.05MM from the City of Middletown which included cash on hand, bond proceeds, ARPA funds, and $7.9MM in NY state agency

grants, reflecting strong local and statewide support for the redevelopment.  

NTCIC served as the federal NMTC allocatee and acted as the federal and state Historic Tax Credit investment sourcer, underwriter, and closer. NTCIC also serves as the asset manager for the New Markets and Historic Tax Credits investments, and fund manager for the Historic Tax Credit investments, providing ongoing oversight and coordination across multiple financing sources to support the Project’s long-term success. 

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Federal Historic Tax Credits

$1.3 Million

New Markets Tax Credits

$7.5 Million

Total Project Cost

$13.4 Million

Project Partner

SHVF Developer

Impact

Education Access

History

Holloway Street Public School

The Holloway Street Public School was opened in 1928 consisting of a historic 48,000-square-foot building with a non-historic 5,250-square-foot gymnasium. It was originally constructed as a three-story elementary school and operated as such until the mid-1990’s, when the public school system closed the facility and sold it. Until 2015, the school and gymnasium remained vacant.

From Vacant to Vibrant
Revitalization Efforts

From Vacant to Vibrant

The substantial rehabilitation of the former Holloway Street School into the KIPP Durham Charter School (KIPP Durham) in 2016 created an academically rigorous college preparatory program. KIPP is a national network of 200 free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public charter schools dedicated to preparing students in distressed communities. KIPP Durham is the fifth school in the KIPP Eastern North Carolina (ENC) network whose mission is to empower all students with the skills, knowledge, and character necessary to succeed in the colleges of their choice and strengthen their community.

The KIPP Durham School includes classrooms, an auditorium, a gymnasium, a multi-use courtyard, and school-related administrative offices. The renovation also features a new attached wing of approximately 6,900 square feet bringing the total project size to over 60,000 square feet. In addition to learning space, there are 60 on-site parking spaces for teachers and other employees at the school.

The project is located in a census tract that meets severely distressed criteria which qualified it for New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC), financed by NTCIC in addition to the federal Historic Tax Credit (HTC), brokered by NTCIC and financed by other financial partners. Due to the NMTC financing for KIPP Durham, the School has been able to receive below-market rent, one of the many essential aspects to allow the school to operate successfully.

Community Impact

Set Up for Success

KIPP Durham opened in August of 2016 with a founding class of 90 fifth and sixth graders and will ultimately serve 600 students in fifth through eighth grade. The establishment of KIPP Durham has saved neighborhood children from a 40-minute commute across town to an underperforming public school. The school provides transportation to all students and provides free breakfast and lunch as all of the children are eligible for free or reduced meals.

25 construction jobs were created; 65 full-time equivalent positions

have been created for teaching, administrative, office, and custodial staff along with school bus drivers and part-time specialists. Ten Durham City part-time positions have been contracted for maintenance, janitorial, and operational services. Opportunities for professional development and advancement are available for all teaching, office, and custodial staff. KIPP has dedicated its hiring efforts to identify members of their team who are passionate about teaching and committed to helping low-income students and families in the greater Durham community succeed in college and beyond.

Students Served

600

Construction Jobs Created

25

Permanent Jobs Created

65

Part Time Jobs Created

10

NTCIC & Progress

Economic Impact

The investment made into KIPP Durham has not only affected current students and their families but is extending to the community at a multigenerational level, broadening its reach within the Durham community. The School is located in an area with a poverty rate of 44% and an unemployment rate of 19%, 3 times greater than the national average. It is also the focus of the City of Durham’s Poverty Reduction Initiative, serving as a catalyst for further public, private, and philanthropic revitalization efforts. One of the strongest neighborhood stakeholders is East Durham Children’s Initiative, which works with community partner organizations to create a pipeline of high-quality services from birth through high school graduation for children and families living in the East Durham area. Teach for America plans to host training sessions at KIPP Durham to help recruit more quality teachers to the greater Durham area. The Durham Police Department has also expressed interest in partnering with the School.

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New Markets Tax Credits

$5 Million

Total Project Cost

$191 Million

Project Partner

Crosstown Arts

Impact

Economic Development

History

Sears Distribution Center & Retail Store

With a foundation as a sophisticated mail-order operation that began in 1889, Sears Roebuck & Company successfully created the role of “buyer for the American farm” by connecting rural people to retail goods. Its goals were to reach communities in rural areas that had limited access to retail stores and to provide affordable and quality goods that might otherwise only be found in the largest cities.

On August 8, 1927, Memphis Mayor Rowlett Paine officially opened the Memphis Sears distribution center and retail store in the Crosstown neighborhood. As one of ten nationwide distribution centers, the Crosstown facility was one of the last three catalog centers to be opened prior to the Great Depression.

The initial 650,000 square-foot facility was built in only 180 days and eventually grew to a 1.5 million square-foot complex. The catalog distribution function of the building remained in use until 1993, when all catalog sales nationwide at Sears were discontinued. Partial operations were also relocated to newer warehouse facilities in other parts of Memphis, and the building was abandoned.

From Abandoned to Anchor
Revitalization Efforts

From Abandoned to Anchor

Vacant for over 20 years, this building has now been saved and repurposed with a new community-serving purpose. Thanks to the vision of nonprofit Crosstown Arts, in partnership with Kemmons Wilson Companies and a group of community stakeholders and founding tenants, the new Crosstown Concourse has emerged as a mixed-use, “vertical urban village” with roots in arts, education and healthcare.  

Reopened on August 18, 2017 (on the building’s 90th birthday), Crosstown Concourse now contains 269 residential mixed-income housing and commercial, retail, education and healthcare space. Tenants include a charter high school for arts and sciences, a teacher residency/graduate urban education program, a wellness and fitness center, primary and urgent healthcare clinics, contemporary art exhibition space, shared art-making facilities, a comprehensive cancer treatment center, and a retail mix that includes a fresh market, pharmacy and restaurants.  

Community Impact

Crosstown as a Catalyst for Revitalization

Crosstown Concourse is the largest historic adaptive reuse project in the state of Tennessee and serves as an anchor and catalyst for revitalization and economic development in Memphis as well as the surrounding communities. Over 6,500 construction workers provided over 2.5 million hours of labor in the rehabilitation resulting in this adaptive reuse. 95% of the construction contracts were managed by local Memphis-owned business and 32% of the contracts were awarded to minority-owned companies.  

Crosstown Concourse attracts approximately 3,000 students, retail customers, residents and patients every day. This “vertical urban village” serves approximately 125,000 healthcare patients and 2,500 students and teachers per year and created an estimated 500 new

permanent jobs. Community members utilize health and wellness services at Church Health, one of the project’s tenants seeking to improve health and well-being in the community. Teach for America, Crosstown High, and Crosstown Arts all offer services that are dedicated to further cultivating the educational and creative community in Memphis. 

Crosstown Concourse offers 269 apartments consisting of 12 micro units, 24 studios, 64 one-bedroom, 155 two-bedroom and 8 three-bedroom apartments. The units are offered to residents at a range of income levels; 20% of these units are considered affordable housing at 80% or below of area median income.

Residential Units Created

269

Historic Space Restored

1 Million SF

Healthcare Patients

125,000 annually

Permanent Jobs Created

500

Construction Jobs Created

6,500

NTCIC & Progress

Financing

Closed in 2014, NTCIC’s involvement in financing Crosstown Concourse included providing an allocation of $5 million in New Markets Tax Credits to help bring the 1 million square foot project to life.

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Federal Historic Tax Credits

$6.5 Million

New Markets Tax Credits

$10 Million

Total Project Cost

$47.4 Million

Project Partner

Cleveland Institute of Art

Impact

Education Access

History

First Ford Factory Outside Detroit

Designed by Albert Kahn, the famed “architect of Detroit,” the McCullough Center was Ford’s first assembly plant outside of the Motor City. In its 1920s heyday, hundreds of Model T’s rolled off its lot every day. But after Ford closed the plant in 1932, the building foundered for decades, serving as a sales office, a warehouse, and office space. By the time Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) acquired the iconic 1915 building in 1981, it was already in need of considerable renovation, if not an outright overhaul.

Due to cost constraints, however, the Center’s full potential as a hub of artistic endeavor was left unrealized for 25-plus yearsDuring this time, CIA’s campus was split between two buildings separated by a half mile of parking lot – a drab, deadening asphalt gulf that students dubbed “the Beach.”

Developing 'The Center'
Revitalization Efforts

Developing 'The Center'

More than a century after it first opened its doors, the 250,000 square foot space in downtown Cleveland is giving young artists, designers, filmmakers, photographers, and coders a unique, adaptable space to hone their crafts, while helping to revitalize an entire Cleveland neighborhood. In 2015, the revived and expanded Center opened its doors with revamped galleries, additional classrooms accommodating CIA’s variety of aesthetic disciplines, a new library, a large atrium connecting the old and new wings, and individual creative studios for each student.

The new Center projects student art on large screens outside the complex, allowing the neighborhood to enjoy some of the innovative and dramatic creations by CIA students. It also boasts the Peter B. Lewis Theater, a state of-the-art 4K cinema complex to house CIA’s long-running and nationally recognized Cinematheque theater, which shows beloved classics, arthouse favorites, and new programming to students and members of the public alike.

Impact

Financing & Community Impact

NTCIC provided a New Markets Tax Credit allocation of $10 million and an equity investment in the $6.5 million of federal Historic Tax Credits generated by the project. Today, the Center is once again a locus of creativity, production, and economic vitality in Cleveland. More than just revive CIA, the refurbished Center has been a catalyst for the burgeoning neighborhood, now being called “Uptown.” Since the renovation broke ground, Uptown has added shops, a grocery

store, new restaurants, and additional housing, and has been nominated for national urban excellence awards. The revitalized space has allowed the school to strengthen its admissions and nearly double the number of students it can support. It also serves as an anchor in the revitalization of the Euclid-Mayfield neighborhood, which links University Circle and Little Italy, into a vibrant arts focused district.

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Historic Tax Credits

$8.25 Million
Federal & State

New Markets Tax Credits

$4 Million

Total Project Cost

$37.7 Million

Project Partner

Impact

Education Access

The Chicora Graded School
History

The Chicora Graded School

Originally constructed in 1935, the Chicora Graded School served the Chicora-Cherokee neighborhood of North Charleston, a community closely connected to employment at the Charleston Navy Yard. The school replaced an earlier facility built in 1921, which by 1929 enrolled approximately 307 students, prompting capacity expansions. As enrollment continued to grow, the campus was expanded multiple times between 1938 and 1955, adding classrooms, an auditorium, a cafeteria, and administrative space.

For decades, the building functioned as a public elementary school, first as a segregated school for white students and later as a more integrated neighborhood school. Following the closure of the Navy Yard in 1996, the surrounding area experienced economic decline and shifting demographics. By 2011, the school suffered from deferred maintenance and declining enrollment, leading to its closure. Vacant for more than a decade, the building remains significant for its role in local educational history.

A Vacant School Transformed
Revitalization Efforts

A Vacant School Transformed

Upon completion, the former Chicora Graded School will be rehabilitated into a collegepreparatory high school serving exclusively lowincome students from the greater Charleston region. The renovated facility will include modern classrooms, administrative offices, science and technology labs, a cafeteria and commercial kitchen, assembly and gathering spaces, and outdoor areas designed to support both academic instruction and workforce development programming.

The school will operate as part of the Cristo Rey network, which combines rigorous collegepreparatory coursework with a corporate workstudy model that allows students to gain realworld professional experience while offsetting the cost of tuition. Tuition at Cristo Rey operates on a sliding scale based on need, with most families not paying any tuition at all. The project is designed to accommodate up to 400 students and to create an education environment intentionally structured to expand access to opportunity for underserved families. 

Community & Economic Impact

Set Up for Success

The redevelopment of the former Chicora Graded School delivers targeted community impact by expanding access to highquality education and workforce pathways in one of North Charleston’s most economically distressed neighborhoods. 

Nearly 40% of residents in the surrounding community live in poverty, and local schools serving this area have historically been underfunded, with graduation and collegecompletion rates for students of color lagging significantly behind state and regional averages.  

In response, the project will serve up to 400 high school students, all from lowincome households, 99% of whom identify as students of color.

The school combines rigorous collegepreparatory academics with a corporate workstudy model that provides students with paid professional experience, mentorship, and exposure to career pathways while they are still in high school. In addition to educational outcomes, the project generates community benefits through permanent job creation, workforce training, and the reactivation of a longvacant neighborhood anchor.

Collectively, the project addresses educational inequity, strengthens workforce readiness, and supports longterm economic mobility for students and families across the Charleston region. 

Job Creation

51 Permanent
142 Construction

Work Study Success

94%

Students Served

400

Students of Color

99%

NTCIC & Progress

Financing & Impact

The $37.7 million project was funded through a variety of sources, including an equity investment by NTCIC in the $5.5 million federal and $2.75 million state Historic Tax Credits generated by the project and a $4 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation. The project was also funded with $2.8MM of South Carolina’s State Abandoned Building Tax Credit.

NTCIC’s roles in the project include acting as a NMTC Allocatee and Asset Manager, federal and state HTC investment sourcer, underwriter, and closer, Federal and State HTC Asset Manager, Federal and State Fund Manager, and Abandoned Building Tax Credit syndicator.

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Federal Historic Tax Credits

$1.3 Million

New Markets Tax Credits

$2 Million

Total Project Cost

$8.2 Million

Project Partner

711 Catherine Developers & Stryant Investments LLC

Impact

Affordable Housing, Arts Education Support & Access

History

School & Community Center

Constructed in 1912, the George W. Adair School is a two-story brick building located at the heart of the Adair Park neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia. Adair Park, a “bungalow suburb,” was developed between the 1890s to the 1940s and features a variety of unique architectural styles, including Queen Anne and Folk Victorian, English Revival, and the predominant American Craftsman bungalows.

The George W. Adair School was designed in the Academic Gothic Revival style by Edward Dougherty, one of Atlanta’s leading architects of the time known for his works throughout Atlanta, including Druid Hills Baptist Church, Druid Hills Golf Club, Imperial Hotel, and the Highland School. For almost 60 years, it operated as both a school and a community gathering center, until enrollment began to diminish in the early 1960s. The school shut its doors in the fall of 1973 and has remained vacant and decaying ever since.

From Abandoned to Artist Hub
Revitalization Efforts

From Abandoned to Artist Hub

The George W. Adair Elementary School will be transformed into the Academy Lofts of Adair Park, a space where creative enthusiasts, artists, and entrepreneurs will live, work, and interact with each other and their local communities.

NTCIC & Progress

Financing & Impact

Academy Lofts was NTCIC’s 7th project supported by the Irvin Henderson Main Street Revitalization Fund and will be the first deal closed in partnership with Great Southern Bank. The Main Street Revitalization Fund provides financing through the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) and New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program to community development initiatives that support direct benefits to communities in need.

The Academy Lofts project will reactivate a long-vacant historic building, provide 35 affordable residential apartment-style housing units, and space for nonprofit tenants and arts-focused

education. Thirty of the units will be rent and income-restricted to households earning 60% AMI or less. The new nonprofit tenants will provide classes, services, community space, and outreach to communities focusing on art-based therapy.

The revitalization of the Academy Lofts is estimated to create/retain 98 jobs during construction and 88 post-completion. It will also include green technology to improve operational efficiency, including Energy Star appliances, water-sense fixtures, and LED lighting. The Academy Lofts opened in 2020.

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Federal Historic Tax Credits

$4.1 Million

New Markets Tax Credits

$6 Million

Total Project Cost

$26 Million

Project Partner

MIS Capital

Impact

Education Access

Historic Foundations in Allegheny West
History

Historic Foundations in Allegheny West

Built in 1913 and designed by architect Henry deCoursy Richards, the John Greenleaf Whittier School has anchored Philadelphia’s Allegheny West neighborhood for generations. Named for the abolitionist poet, the three-story brick building with terra cotta details and a U-shaped courtyard welcomed thousands of local students over its long history. Whittier Elementary was a vital resource for the community, reflecting the evolving needs and diversity of North Philadelphia.

After nearly a century of service, the school closed in June 2013, leaving the building vacant and the neighborhood without a key educational institution. Recognizing both the architectural significance and the urgent need for accessible learning opportunities, KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools committed to revitalizing Whittier as the new home for its middle school program.

KIPP at Whittier Entrance
Revitalization Efforts

Transforming Space for Student Success

The former Whittier School has been transformed into a modern, high-performance facility for KIPP Philadelphia’s middle school program.

The 78,000-square-foot building, vacant since 2013, underwent a full rehabilitation to create state-of-the-art classrooms, a new cafeteria, a multi-purpose gym and auditorium, and an outdoor education area.

Designed to accommodate up to 700 students, the revitalized school now provides expanded educational opportunities for families in Allegheny West.

Community Impact

Transforming Lives Through Learning

The revitalized Whittier School now provides a modern, high-quality learning environment for up to 700 middle school students in Allegheny West. By expanding capacity from 360 students, KIPP Philadelphia addresses significant demand for accessible, college-preparatory education in an underserved neighborhood. The school’s open enrollment lottery ensures equitable access for families citywide.

KIPP Philadelphia primarily serves economically and educationally disadvantaged students, with 86% qualifying for the Federal Meals Program and 24% receiving special education assistance. The student body reflects the surrounding community, with 98% identifying as African American or Hispanic. The project also created new green spaces and public access areas, strengthening connections between the school and its neighbors.

Expanded Enrollment

The revitalized school now serves up to 700 students, up from 360.

Supporting a Community in Need

86% of students qualify for the Federal Meals Program.
24% of students receive Special Education Assistance.

Job Creation

The project delivered 80 union construction jobs and supports 70 permanent full-time equivalent jobs.

Green Space & Learning

New outdoor education areas and public-access green space strengthen neighborhood connections.

NTCIC & Progress

Financing the Project

NTCIC provided $6 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocation and an equity investment in the $4.1 million in Federal Historic Tax Credits generated by the project, making the $26 million rehabilitation of Whittier School possible. These investments enabled the transformation of a vacant historic building into a modern, high-performance educational facility for KIPP Philadelphia’s middle school program.

The project leveraged NMTC and HTC equity alongside loans, grants, and sponsor equity, reducing the school’s fundraising burden and ensuring financial feasibility. Construction created 80 union jobs, while the completed school supports 70 permanent positions and offers below-market rents, maximizing resources for student success and long-term neighborhood revitalization.

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KIPP at Whittier Entrance

Federal Historic Tax Credits

$3.77 Million

State Historic Tax Credits

$4.3 Million

New Markets Tax Credits

$2 Million

Total Project Cost

$20.7 Million

Project Partner

Main Street Projects, LLC

History

A Rich Textile History

In the late 1800s, Fall River, Massachusetts, had become one of the country’s leading textile regions in America and, by the turn of the century, housed more than 1 million spindles in operation, second in the world to only Manchester, England. Originally known as the Bradford Durfee Textile School, the facility opened its doors in 1904 to provide advanced courses in textile manufacturing and chemistry to educate the rapidly growing population of local mill workers.

The school was named by the school’s original landowner, Miss Sarah S. Brayton, a descendant of local textile industry pioneer and Civil War veteran Maj. Bradford Dufree. Classes initially offered included advanced designing, electrical laboratory, motor testing, hand warping, loom, mechanical drawing, and machine shop.

The school expanded over the years and started to offer additional courses of study, eventually gaining the ability to award Bachelor’s degrees. At that point, the school’s name was changed to the Bradford Durfee College of Technology. In 1960, it merged with a neighboring technical institute to form the Southeastern Massachusetts Technological Institute and, in 1991, was acquired and merged with several branches of the University of Massachusetts to become UMass Dartmouth, vacating the building in the transition. A local community college briefly took over some of the space for classes but left nearly 20 years ago. The building has since sat vacant, awaiting a new use.

Revitalization

Creative Campus

The 74,000 square foot, five-building campus will soon become the Creative Class Lofts and provide 44 market-rate apartments, 11 affordable apartments for practicing artists, and 23,345 square feet of commercial, community, and retail space.

Anchoring the commercial portion of the building will be the Spectrum Empowerment Project and the Youth Musical Theater Corporation (YMTC). Spectrum provides autistic adults with an alternate path to college and employment through economic independence, social growth, and creative expression. YMTC is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization that provides young people with the opportunity to participate in theatrical experiences and produces two Broadway-style musicals each year. The building will also include a 170-seat event space/black box theater to support these groups, as well as an art gallery open to the public.

Groundwork, a Massachusetts-based coworking space provider, will be opening a new site within Creative Class Lofts after celebrating five years of successful growth in their New Bedford location. The Groundwork space will provide coworking memberships and support several local businesses, including Entrepreneurship for All (“E for All”), a year-long small business incubation program.

Community & Economic Impact

Building a Community

The project received an impressive level of community support through the development process and a variety of public funding designed for economic and residential expansion. The development team received letters of support from both Mayor Jasiel Correia II and the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.

In addition to below-market-rate leases, the larger, revitalized space will allow the commercial tenants to expand their programming to support more community members. Groundwork will provide affordable membership rates to an estimated 400 annual users and host job training programs as part of its partnership with the MassHire Bristol Workforce Investment Board.

Additionally, it will support Entrepreneurship for All (“E for All”), a year-long small business incubation program that will provide 30 entrepreneurs a year—predominantly women, minorities, and immigrants— with the opportunity to move their businesses forward.

The larger space and new theater will enable both the Spectrum Empowerment Project and YMTC to greatly develop and expand their

community programming. With a dedicated theater at their disposal, YMTC plans to add 4 additional performances to their annual calendar, growing their audience to 800 people annually. Additionally, the new location’s proximity to the Fall River District Court will allow Spectrum’s Employ Workforce Integration program, which provides job training for adults on the spectrum, to develop a new Paralegal Assistant program. The project will also create affordable housing for practicing artists (those earning 60% AMI or less), who typically have been pioneers in creating vibrancy in blighted neighborhoods. The project is a significant part of the city’s “Downtown Urban Renewal Plan.” In 2007, the city created an Arts Overlay District to promote the expansion of art and culture, encourage art uses, and enhance the vitality of the central business district by fostering a mix of housing and art-related uses. This project will be the “mix of housing and art-related uses,” which has been so elusive to the community.

The revitalization of the historic building will create an estimated 126 quality construction jobs, 72% of which are accessible to underserved individuals. Once complete, the building’s tenants will create an estimated 46 permanent jobs.

Theater Programming

Will grow audience to 800 annually

Entrepreneurship for All

30 participants annually

Housing for Artists

Part of city’s Downtown Renewal Plan

Groundwork Coworking

400 affordable memberships

Job Creation

46 full time jobs created

NTCIC & Progress

Financing the Project

The $20.7 million project was financed in part with $2 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation from NTCIC’s Irvin Henderson Main Street Revitalization Fund. Additionally, NTCIC’s invested in the $3.77 million in federal Historic Tax Credits (HTC)

and $4.3 million in state HTCs generated by the project. Additional financing included funds from the Massachusetts Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP) and additional state and federal programs including the HOME Program.

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New Markets Tax Credits

$1.7 Million

Total Project Cost

$6.7 Million

Project Partner

Jubilee Baltimore

Impact

Arts Education, Support, & Access

History

Auto Shop & Dance Academy

Built in 1909, the historic Odell Building at 21 North Avenue was one of the first, if not the first, commercial buildings located on what is now known as North Avenue in Baltimore City, Maryland. During the mid-1800s, Taney Place was an upper-class residential boulevard of many free-standing estates and large rowhouses. The street began to transition to more high-end commercial use with the construction of 21 North Avenue, which housed the Auto Outing Company, a luxury Buick sales and service station, and Tuttle’s Dancing Academy. Generations of Baltimore’s upper-class took lessons at this academy, including Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor.

During the 1920s, the street became fully commercial and catered almost exclusively to wealthy patrons. During this time, the founder of Auto Outing Company, JM Robbins, changed the business name to Robbins Buick, to reflect an increased focus on car sales. This period was short-lived and came to an end with the Great Depression of 1929. Robbins Buick closed its doors in 1932, but the ballroom remained.

As the country recovered through the 1940s, the area around North Avenue shifted to serve the growing middle-class community and became a major point of connection for the city’s eastern and western residential areas. With excellent streetcar services, North Avenue became a social and entertainment center for Baltimore’s younger population, and the building became the social landmark. From the 1950s through the building’s vacancy in 1992, the building housed several famous nightclubs and venues, the most iconic of which being Odell’s. Opened in 1976, Odell’s was Baltimore’s premier disco venue through the 1980s and is often cited as the birthplace of Baltimore Club Music. Since the club’s closing in 1992, the building has sat vacant and waiting for revitalization.

An Inovative Campus
Revitalization Efforts

An Inovative Campus

The redevelopment of the historic Odell building into the North Avenue Educational Hub will reactivate the 18,000 square foot landmark and become a new home to two Baltimore-based nonprofit organizations dedicated to enriching the lives of students.

A Neighborhood Landmark Revived

BEFORE

Vacant and Neglected

Since Odell’s closing in 1992, the historic structure sat vacant, ready to be revitalized.

AFTER

Reactivated for the Community

After its renovation, the historic building is now alive again, hosting two non-profits dedicated to serving the community

Community & Economic Impact

Community and Culture

The revitalization of this historic building, led by the nonprofit development organization Jubilee Baltimore, created positive community outcomes from the moment the first brick was laid. The construction team created roughly 57 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs, all paying the Maryland Prevailing Wage (or higher). Additionally, the construction team worked with Project Jumpstart, a 14-week construction training program, to provide employment and training opportunities for Baltimore residents. Upon its completion, the expanded space and lower rents enabled both non-profit

organizations to hire additional employees, expand their training programs and help more children in Baltimore. In total, the project created and retained 62 permanent jobs, all of which pay a living wage (or higher), and provide healthcare, paid leave, retirement benefits, job training, and opportunities for advancement. The large space for Code in the Schools helped roughly 50 students gain access to computer science education courses on-site every day during the school year.

NTCIC & Progress

Financing the Project

The project financing was made possible, in part, the $1.7 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation, provided by NTCIC’s Irvin Henderson Main Street Revitalization Fund. This innovative use of the New Markets Tax Credit supports historic preservation efforts in Main Street communities that are of a development cost that may preclude them from some federal incentive programs. The project also utilized state and federal Historic Tax Credits, provided by additional funding partners.

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Federal Historic Tax Credits

$41 Million

New Markets Tax Credits

$12.5 Million

Total Project Cost

$280 Million

Project Partner

Ancora Partners

Impact

Job Creation, Healthcare Access, and more.

History

General Electric Complex

The historic General Electric complex and its contribution to the community began in 1881 with the establishment of the Fort Wayne Electric Company. After meeting with the inventor of one of the earliest variations of arc lighting, local entrepreneur Ranald Macdonald established the Fort Wayne electric company to manufacture and sell the Jenney arc lighting system for Indiana and four other states. Within four years, the Fort Wayne Electric Works had grown from a start-up enterprise to a successful and growing business. By 1892, Fort Wayne Electric caught the eye of and was acquired by the General Electric (GE) company, one of the three largest electrical companies in the country at the time.

Upon taking control of the Fort Wayne Electric Works, General Electric invested heavily in expanding its operations in Fort Wayne. Through World War I and into the heady economic years of the 1920s, the company continued to grow exponentially. The company was at the forefront of the rise of electrical streetcar systems and the leader of electrical consumer appliances. As America electrified, General Electric grew rapidly. By the mid-1940s, the complex supported more than 20,000 employees.

However, through these decades, GE’s national footprint continued to expand and its prioritization of the Fort Wayne location began to diminish. By the 1950s, the Fort Wayne location was no longer the epicenter of GE’s key business. Over the ensuing years, production and employment levels at the Broadway campus dropped consistently and at times significantly as GE shifted production to newer, more efficient factories with cheaper and typically non-union workforces. Thus beginning in the Post-World War II years, the Broadway campus no longer served as a singular symbol of Fort Wayne’s industrial-strength, but rather one of many GE assets to be managed by GE’s corporate headquarters in Schenectady, New York. The company permanently closed the 39-acre complex in 2015 and it was acquired in 2017 for redevelopment by a partnership led by Durham-based Ancora Partners.

An Inovative Campus
Revitalization Efforts

An Inovative Campus

The first phase of the project will transform 10 historic manufacturing buildings and the construction of one additional building on the western portion of the former General Electric campus into a lively 730,000+ square-foot innovation district. It is part of a greater redevelopment plan for the entire General Electric campus which includes 18 historic buildings and more than 1.2 million square feet of space for office, education, retail, residential, hospitality, and entertainment uses. The subsequent East Campus project includes the redevelopment of eight historic buildings, as well as a significant new construction component that will be a mix of affordable housing and hospitality.

Community & Economic Impact

Community and Culture

The massive revitalization efforts of the 12-acre west campus will ultimately create and support approximately 2,000 accessible construction-related jobs, a majority of which will be union and pay a living wage. Once complete, the variety of commercial tenants will help grow and attract new and existing businesses to the area and support over 1,500 permanent jobs.

The first phase of Electric Works – West Campus – is expected to generate nearly $300 million in economic impact to the local region. When the West Campus opens in 2022, it is estimated to generate almost $400 million in annual economic impact.

One of the largest healthcare providers in Indiana will operate the primary care clinic and pharmacy providing services to 15,000 patients annually for the medically underserved population, of which

at least 3,000 Medicaid patients annually. Fort Wayne STEAM high school, a new sciences-oriented community school, will utilize 26,000 square feet to prepare over 300 low-income students for both college and the workforce.

The project will also provide space for the relocation of two local non-profit farmers’ markets to expand the number of vendors and the number of market days.

Do It Best Headquarters, the anchor tenant, is a member-owned hardware, lumber, and building materials cooperative. The space at the project will allow Do It Best to retain 432 quality jobs in Fort Wayne and expand operations creating an additional 88 quality jobs. Approximately 25% of Do It Best jobs are accessible by requiring no more than a high-school diploma or equivalent.

Job Creation

2,000 construction and 1,500 permanent jobs

Healthcare Access

15,000 patients annually

Do It Best HQ

Add 88 quality jobs

Both Campuses

Expected to generate $700 million

NTCIC & Progress

Financing the Project

The $286 million public-private partnership was financed with a diverse capital stack, including NTCIC’s investment in the $41 million federal HTCs generated by the project. This HTC investment was funded in partnership with two of NTCIC’s federal HTC investors including the recently-launched Climate Impact and Revitalization

Fund. Financing also included $51 million in NMTC allocation from five different Community Development Entities, including $12.5 million from NTCIC. Additional public and private financing sources included $60 million in state tax credits, bond financing from the City of Fort Wayne, and $22 million of LP capital.

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We bring clear insight, deep experience, and strategic focus to every project, whether you're structuring complex capital or shaping long-term, legacy-driven development.

Name(Required)
Want to Discuss Your Next Project? Talk With Our Team Today.