NTCIC was awarded $60 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation authority from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). The NMTC is a federal tax credit that attracts private investment to economically distressed communities. NTCIC was one of 73 Community Development Entities (CDEs) from a pool of 230 applicants who received an allocation in this round. With this award, NTCIC has now received $583 million of NMTC allocation in eleven of the fourteen rounds of the program.
NTCIC’s allocation will support the revitalization of vacant or underutilized historic buildings into vibrant properties that generate job growth and provide community services to low-income community residents. With a national footprint, NTCIC’s new allocation will amplify its prior track record of revitalizing 75 historic properties located in 27 states.
NTCIC expects to use a significant portion of its new allocation for job creation and workforce development programs similar to our most recent investment in a manufacturing facility in western New York called Northland Central. This project is a mix of industrial, lab/training, and office space, with a concentrated focus to provide training for careers to low-income and other traditionally underrepresented groups in advanced manufacturing and energy sectors. It is estimated that 300 low-income persons annually will be positively impacted by the job training programs offered at the project. Northland Central’s general contractor and subcontractors are expected to provide 144 full-time-equivalent positions accessible to low-income persons or residents of low-income communities. In an effort to meet workforce diversity goals, 30% of anticipated construction jobs will be dedicated for local residents, 25% for minorities and 5% specifically for women.
NTCIC has also committed a portion of its allocation to prioritize smaller, Main Street-scale rehab projects under its Main Street Small Deal Fund (MSSDF). Together with a national bank partner, NTCIC uniquely provides historic and new markets equity for projects with capital needs under $2 million. An illustrative MSSDF example is NTCIC’s 2017 investment in the Owosso Armory located in Owosso, Michigan. The Armory is a 36,000-square-foot building that will be transformed into office and collaborative incubator space for community and small business initiatives. Tenants committed to relocating include the Shiawassee Chamber of Commerce and the Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership, as well as nine other local business owners.
NTCIC President Merrill Hoopengardner commented, “It is an honor to be selected in yet another extremely competitive round. On behalf of the board and staff of NTCIC, we are extremely grateful and look forward to strengthening NTCIC’s mission to support low-income communities nationwide.”
Learn more about NTCIC’s NMTC investment opportunities at https://ntcic.com/invest/nmtc/ and submit your next NMTC project at https://ntcic.com/our-projects/submit-a-project/.
Learn more about the NMTC program and a list of all allocation recipients in the NMTC Program Award Book.