Education

New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Institute

December 28, 2017 by

New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Institute (NOCHI) was established for the purpose of marrying world-class culinary & hospitality facilities, content and programming with New Orleans’ indisputable standing as a world-class culinary & hospitality city. Beyond providing traditional training, education and R&D in the fields of culinary arts and hospitality, NOCHI aspires to elevate New Orleans to a position of thought leadership across multiple disciplines that intersect with food/hospitality for the purpose of creating rewarding careers and improving quality of life for its local citizens and the larger global community.

In 2014, NOCHI purchased the former ArtWorks building with the intent to renovate it into a state-of-the-art workforce training facility. The concept of a culinary and hospitality training facility was developed in response to two alarming trends in New Orleans: a shortage of trained restaurant staff, and high rates of both non-employment and underemployment, particularly among African-Americans—e.g., a 2013 study conducted by the Lindy Boggs Center for Community Literacy at Loyola University reported that 52 percent of African American working age men in New Orleans are not working.

In December, 2017, CGC and NOCHI closed on a $19M financing to renovate the ArtWorks facility, utilizing NMTC allocation provided by United Fund Advisors and Enhanced Capital, and a NMTC equity investment provided by Iberia Bank. The 93,000 sf facility will house a wide variety of programming, including Culinary Training Program, Workforce Training Programs, Enthusiasts Courses and Community Programming as well as Tulane’s Freeman School of Business new Hospitality Entrepreneurship programming.

As part of a cooperative endeavor agreement with New Orleans Convention Center, NOCHI is mandated to provide subsidized workforce training to between 100-500 students annually. These programs will range from “standardized” programs for industry-wide needs to employer-based custom training programs that NOCHI would help develop and execute.

Beyond the subsidized training they receive, NOCHI students will be able to take advantage of the school’s Educational Advisory Board, comprised of a wide representation of the local hospitality industry, who will oversee the customization of the curriculum to meet the needs of different types of participants, as well as of prospective employers, by adding field trips, job shadowing, guest speakers, and/or internship opportunities that can be arranged within less than a mile of NOCHI’s location.

Furthermore, NOCHI students will also be able to leverage NOCHI’s ties to the local hospitality industry to find a new position after graduation. While NOCHI’s facilities will provide for hands-on food and beverage learning lab space, the school’s proximity to hundreds of hotels allows for convenient access to real-world learning “lab” spaces for other hospitality positions.

Mesquite Library

December 20, 2017 by

Crescent Growth CApital (“CGC”) and the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District (“LVCCLD”) are pleased to announce the closing of a $10M NMTC financing, using allocation provided by the Clearinghouse CDFI, and a NMTC equity investment provided by Chase Bank. This new library project is one of LVCCLD’s new model libraries, aimed at providing a broad swath of community services and bringing the library into the 21st century.

The new 16,000 sf Mesquite Branch Library of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District lies in the heart of the rural community of Mesquite, population 17,059, located in Clark County, an 8,000 square mile county in southern Nevada. The community is 82 miles from Las Vegas NV, 20 miles from the Arizona border, 40 miles St. George UT, and 35 miles from the Paiute Reservation in Moapa, NV. Mesquite serves as a regional center for many functions. Children from nearby Arizona towns attend Mesquite’s Clark County School District schools.

Mesquite has been designated a priority need area for city, state and regional economic development and workforce agencies. The library site is located on the only CDBG block in Mesquite. The site is located within the City of Mesquite-designated Enterprise Zone and is in a rural area identified by Workforce Connections, the southern Nevada agency for employment, business and career support, as high need/low resource. Workforce Connections has provided a full-time onsite staff person to start-up and expand employment, business and career development services to scale when the new facility comes on line. Plans are now in progress to combine federal education, labor and library resources to conduct specific job training and OneStop services from this facility, along with English language instruction and citizenship.

Workforce Connections will provide staff, instruction and career coach expertise. The Library District will provide public access computers, laptops, Internet, Wifi, printers, scanners, copiers, and other office equipment, as well as a wealth of physical and virtual materials, information sources, databases and apps that support economic development and education. Once complete, the project will give the public access to a new community meeting room, consultation and study rooms with monitors, computer and instruction labs, and access to physical materials and virtual resources that ultimately make this library facility a community hub for economic, education and social well-being.

In this way, this project will prototype a new library model that combines free public access to technology and services for learning, training, making, entertaining, and gathering. It will also prototype a new kind of intergovernmental collaboration. As indicated above, the facility will integrate local, county, regional and state services for workforce, education, social services, citizenship, and libraries. Services provided free to the public here will support OneStop workforce services; small business development support; social service and government agency connections; early childhood development; parent engagement; student support such as homework help; English language, High School Equivalency, and literacy instruction; public computer, Internet and Wifi access; community and cultural events; and job training and certification programs related to the early childhood education sector.

This project will create an estimated 7 positions, while retaining another 15 existing positions. Full-time Mesquite library employees will receive a full set of benefits, including health insurance and retirement (Nevada PERS), which is valued at roughly 30% of salary. Full- and part-time employees are covered by Worker’s Comp.

East Last Vegas Library

July 26, 2017 by

The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District (“LVCCLD”) currently serves 1.5 million people over 8,000 square miles—an area larger than the state of Connecticut. Despite its broad reach throughout the Las Vegas area, in early 2016, the LVCCLD issued a new strategic plan, “Vision 2020,” aimed at modernizing its libraries to adapt to the new digital world.

With the tagline “We don’t library like we used to,” LVCCLD’s Vision 2020 plan aims to give the District the flexibility to adapt quickly to a changing digital landscape by implementing new layouts, technologies, methods of communication, and models of service in all its existing and new libraries. They recognized that, on the one hand, libraries are being urged to go national and international as a platform for digital content creation and exchange. On the other, libraries are urged to be a bridge for local social, economic and education connections that are critical to well-being and to be local hubs for learning, creativity and community engagement.

Vision 2020 has become a guide for deploying library assets – virtual and physical – in ways that advance and amplify the talent and vitality of the region, making even more people successful, happy and engaged in learning, discovery, achievement. In an area that is coping with a plethora of post-recession challenges such as affordable access to food, housing, clothing, employment and education, the new LVCCLD library will address each of these issues by focusing on the four pillars of the Vision 2020 model: Limitless Learning, Business & Career Services, Government & Social Services and Culture & Community.

The new 40,000 sf East Las Vegas Library will be the model for all Vision 2020 libraries going forward. The building’s open layout will give the Library the flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of the community, while providing a wide array of resources and services including traditional and digital literacy programming, parenting support, early childhood development services, school readiness, K-12 academic support, out-of-school learning, making, STEAM activities, entrepreneurship, career pathways, employment search and training, access to computers and Wifi hotspots, English language and citizenship instruction, digital media production, and space for cultural performances and community celebrations. The concept for the new facility is the result of a long and collaborative partnership between LVCCLD and the surrounding community: a series of community outreach meetings yielded a number of new library features which were incorporated into the design. These new features, unfortunately, increased the project budget from $18M to $22.6M, leaving a $4.6M funding gap with no readily available source of funding.

In July, 2017, CGC and the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Foundation closed on a $17M NMTC financing, utilizing NMTC allocation provided by the City of Las Vegas through its CDE, Las Vegas Community Investment Corporation, and NMTC equity provided by Capital One. The NMTC subsidy generated by this financing was sufficient to close funding gap and round out the development budget for the new East Las Vegas Library branch. The new facility is expected to create up to 400 construction and 8 new, permanent FTE positions, while retaining the existing 38 employees.

Boys & Girls Club of San Antonio – May’s Family Clubhouse

January 5, 2017 by

The Boys Clubs opened in San Antonio in 1939, in a small facility on Dolorosa Street. Over the years the clubs grew in stature, membership and facilities, so much that in 1963, Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez presented then President John F. Kennedy with a gavel and handmade box created by the members in their woodworking shop. In 1976, girls were invited to become members and the name of the clubs was officially changed in 1991 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio.

Through the decades the programming and facilities have improved but the mission has remained the same. Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio’s mission is to enhance the educational, social, and moral development of San Antonio’s youth ages 6-18, especially those most disadvantaged by providing a fun, safe place full of age appropriate activities and opportunities. Through the professional staff, thriving facilities, dynamic volunteers, and strong links to the community, the clubs provide professionally designed youth development programs.

Today, BGCSA serves more than 9,200 Club members annually, ages 6 – 18, and operates seven branch locations in the city of San Antonio. Membership is open to all children in San Antonio for nominal annual membership dues ($50). No child is turned away due to an inability to pay. The majority of the club’s membership is comprised of minority children (95%), from single parent / grandparent families (62%) and receives some form of federal assistance (75%). The clubs’ impact is undeniable: 99% of members stayed in school and successfully progress to the next grade level, 100% of graduating teen members pursued higher education 71% made notable progress in character development and 99% improved their grades in basic skills courses (math, science, reading).

At the venerable age of 75, the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio reached a crossroads: aging facilities had becoming inadequate for the needs of the organization, and an expansion was necessary to maximize the Club’s impact on San Antonio’s at-risk youth population. In early 2015, the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio decided to launch an $8.8 million capital campaign to build the May’s Family Clubhouse in the Lone Star neighborhood.

On January 5, 2017, Crescent Growth Capital worked with the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio to close a $7,267,118 NMTC financing for the new May’s Family Clubhouse, utilizing NMTC allocation provided by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, NMTC equity investment provided by Capital One, and a capital campaign bridge loan provided by Frost Bank.

The May’s Family Clubhouse is located in a neighborhood that offers youths few opportunities for success, and as a result, the neighborhood has suffered: the Lone Star neighborhood has the highest juvenile crime rate in San Antonio, and nearly double the City’s average child abuse and teen pregnancy rates. The proposed branch at 829 Nogalitos is anticipated to have 650 members and daily attendance of about 225 youths, utilizing a state-of-the-art facility that features a learning center, multi-media centers, an art studio, a teen center, a teaching kitchen and a game room. The May’s Family Clubhouse will also be situated at the trail head for the San Pedro Creek development.

Family Service Association – The Neighborhood Place

December 15, 2016 by

Family Service is a nationally accredited, private, non-profit, non-sectarian agency funded by the United Way, and operating under fee-for-service contracts with a number of San Antonio’s largest outreach programs, including the Assistance League of San Antonio, the Alliance for Children and Families, and the Methodist Healthcare Ministries.

Family Service provides high quality services on more than 60 school campuses, in 8 agency offices, and within client homes. For the past 110 years, Family Service has been characterized by four traits that drive all agency programs and services: (1) an abiding dedication to families; (2) innovative research-based approaches; (3) responsible fiscal management; and (4) collaboration with community stakeholders.

Family Service has been a leader in San Antonio’s impoverished communities for decades, providing a full continuum of life supporting services including behavioral health counseling, crisis counseling, youth development, school & community engagement programming, workforce and financial empowerment, child care resource and referral, and Head Start early childhood education.

Family Service has been recognized by both Federal and State organizations as a leader in the implementation of evidence-based models, including, but not limited to the SAMHSA Science to Service Award, Best Practices Award Winner as well as serving as a research host site for multiple national level evidence-based curricula, including Multi-Dimensional Family Therapy, ACC/ACRA, Families and Schools Together, Parents as Teachers, Nurturing and Strengthening Families. Family Service is one of only ten nationally accredited child care resources/referral service centers and the only one in the state of Texas.

Located in the former H.K. Williams Elementary School, the repurposed Neighborhood Place is a collaborative community concept providing a comprehensive array of more than 40 programs and services designed to address troublesome community needs and improve outcomes for children and families.

The facility also represents a new and unique model for revitalizing an impoverished urban community, by focusing on services that strengthen families. The multi-tiered collaboration at the Neighborhood Place leverages resident leadership and public-private partnerships to deliver program services that help families work, earn, and save their way toward self-sufficiency. This model places a specific emphasis on improving the overall health of children within the family, through programs aimed at stemming child abuse, providing healthy food alternatives, and helping families better prepare children to succeed in school.

In 2014, more than 60 organizations utilized The Neighborhood Place to provide a diverse array of services to the community, including the City of San Antonio, VITA tax preparation services, H.E.B., Texas Veterans Commission, Twogether in Texas, Texas A&M, UT San Antonio, Positive Choices, Odyssey, Antioch Baptist Church, Bexar Area Agency on Aging, UT Health Science Center, Project MELD, Boystown, Immaculate Conception, Girls Inc., KLRN, Texas Council on Family, Superior Health, Holy Cross, Ballet Folklorico, AVANCE, Hispanas Unidas, Girls Scouts, Head Start, Alliance for Veterans, etc.

The majority of the people who visit The Neighborhood Place each year come from the surrounding neighborhoods, which are predominately Latino, and are extremely impoverished: 32% of all residents, and nearly 44% of households with children, live below the federal poverty line. Among adults in the targeted zip codes, fully 47% do not have a high school education.

Despite all the programs and services Family Service Association provides out of The Neighborhood Place, the facility was in drastic need of repairs, including an upgraded HVAC system, asbestos remediation, electrical upgrades, additional restrooms, security, as well as upgrades to parking, flooring and perimeter fencing.

In December, 2016, CGC and Family Service Association closed on a $6M NMTC financing to provide the financing necessary to renovate The Neighborhood Place, utilizing NMTC allocation provided by Enhanced Capital and Wells Fargo.

Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep

November 2, 2016 by

Founded in Chicago in 2001 by Father John P. Foley, S.J., the Cristo Rey network is the largest network of high schools in the US whose enrollment is limited to low-income youth. Cristo Rey employs an innovative business model, wherein students work five days each month in entry-level jobs at local professional companies, with the fee for their work being directed to underwrite tuition costs. Operating on a franchise system, each Cristo Rey school is a partnership between a local operator with an established track record, and the proven Cristo Rey 9-12 programming that is based on rigorous academics, four years of professional work experience, and Catholic moral values, employed in a high-expectations environment. Students’ tuition is subsidized by the same work study program that prepares them for college, as well as putting them in good position to succeed in their first job.

Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep (“CRDCP”), the 30th Cristo Rey school nationwide, welcomed its inaugural 126-member freshman class in September, 2015, operating out of the St. Augustine Drive site in Pleasant Grove, under a lease with the Catholic Diocese of Dallas. The need for a Cristo Rey school in the Pleasant Grove neighborhood in Dallas is readily apparent: of the 244,660 residents of Pleasant Grove, 64.5% are Hispanic, 29.5% are African American, and 55% of families earn $34,000 or less. The Dallas Independent School District (“DISD”) is considered an underperforming school district, and within DISD, the primary and secondary schools in Pleasant Grove are among the lowest-performing, while not benefitting from any strong, established secondary charter schools, like other areas of Dallas. Only 71% of Pleasant Grove students graduate high school, and only 41.6% of high school seniors took the ACT/SAT, and their average score was a 16/36 (22nd percentile) on the ACT, and 1104/2400 on the SAT (1550 is the benchmark for college readiness).

While the need for the new CRDCP school was apparent, the existing 60-year old facilities on the Pleasant Grove campus – originally designed for 250 elementary school students – were woefully inadequate for a 500-student 9-12 high school. So in 2015, CRDCP began preparations for a massive capital campaign to raise the funds necessary to build a new high school. In November, 2016, Crescent Growth Capital worked with Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep to close a $9.5M NMTC financing for the first phase of its new high school facility, utilizing $7M in NMTC allocation from the City of Dallas and $2.5M from Capital One Bank, as well as a construction loan provided by Frost Bank.

The $9.7M Phase 1 LEED-certified facility will house 15 classrooms, 4 state-of-the-art science labs, and offices for the principal, dean of students and dean of academics, while creating 32 new jobs.

The project site is located within a USDA-designated Food Desert, and Cristo Rey Dallas has a strict no outside food policy. They provide students with meals through the National School Lunch Program and have school-wide physical recreation time on Friday mornings to encourage healthy habits. Future goals include starting a community garden to provide healthy food to both students and the community.

CRDCP will employ the same Corporate Work Study Program found in all Cristo Rey schools. The program is an innovative model of education that gives students a Catholic, college-preparatory education while earning work experience in a corporate setting. Four students rotate through the week to fill the position full-time. Each student has an assigned day on which he or she works. On Friday, the four students rotate to share the fifth day of the week. In each four-week span, each student will have one week in which he or she works two days. Student schedules are created so that students never miss a class.

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