New Markets Tax Credits

West Las Vegas Library

April 5, 2024 by

Las Vegas-Clark County Library District (LVCCLD) is planning a new facility to serve the severely distressed West Las Vegas neighborhood. The neighborhood is deeply impoverished; more than four out of ten households earn less than $25,000 a year, and nearly half of all households with children live in poverty. Six of the seven census tracts to be served by the new library are severely distressed. (The census tract that will host the library possesses a poverty rate of 55.1% and a household median income amounting to not even one-third of the region’s figure.) Over 75% of the population within the library’s service area is non-white, and with fewer than 1 in 10 of those over 25 years old having earned college degrees, overall educational attainment is low. West Las Vegas is also considered to be the most unsafe neighborhood in the city, with violent crime rates over 700% higher than the U.S. average. The neighborhood is crying out for a well-resourced, broad-based intervention.

The new West Las Vegas library will devote no more than 15% of its interior square footage to book stacks. Rather, libraries today are “services-centric” opportunity hubs. To unlock the human development potential of its highly-disadvantaged service area, the new library will focus on four areas: Business & Career Services/Workforce Development (Employ NV Career Hub), Family Learning, School Support (children & teens), and Social Services & Healthcare (in partnership with Intermountain Healthcare & the Southern Nevada Health District). 21^st century skill sets will be taught, including Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration, Visual Literacy, Media Literacy, Entrepreneurial Literacy and Global Awareness. This will leverage the library system’s mature programming capacity: Over 1,000 programs per year will be offered, addressing topics such as early childhood and parenting education, media production within dedicated makerspace labs, culinary and nutrition programs, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) projects, and English language, high school diploma, and citizenship instruction.

In March of 2024, in partnership with Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institutions, Prestamos CDFI, Accion Opportunity Fund, and Chase Bank, Crescent closed on a $33.5M Federal NMTC financing to construct a 40,000 SF library – more than twice the size of the library currently serving the neighborhood – will support this within Project-Based Learning Spaces, including an Innovation Lab, Youth Technology Area & Multimedia Area (A/V Studios, Green Room, Editing Suite, Music Room), Children’s Collection & Story Time Space, Tween Area, Teen Area, Adult Learning Classroom, Adult Learning Lab, Employ NV Career Hub, Business Center, Computer Lab, Conference Room and Event Spaces (with a kitchen), Tech Area Flex Space, Quiet Room, and Study Booths.

The library will engage in four key areas: Business & Career Services/Workforce Development, Family Learning, School Support, and Social Services & Healthcare.

By combining cutting-edge programming, experienced outside partners, state-of-the-art infrastructure and sympathetic design, the new facility will catalyze transformative improvement in educational and social outcomes for its users.

Approximately 22,000 people will be served annually by the services provided by the new branch, and 250 jobs will result from its construction and operation.

Second Harvest of the Big Bend

April 3, 2024 by

Second Harvest of the Big Bend was founded in 1982 and first focused on collecting and distributing perishable food. An affiliate of the nationwide Feeding America food bank network. Second Harvest’s service area consists of an expansive, sixteen-county region in the central Florida Panhandle. Last year, SHBB distributed a record 13.8 million pounds of food donated by national manufacturers, food wholesalers and distributors, other regional food banks, local food retailers, regional farmers, local food drives and individual donors. SHBB also routinely purchases some foods at a wholesale rate and distributes U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Commodities through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). In 2022 SHBB served over 120,000 individuals, 59.4% of whom were members of ethnic or racial minorities.

SHBB has developed several programs tailored to its clients, many of whom live in remote rural areas (51.5% of all clients). Twelve mobile pantries, known as “Just in Time” distribution vehicles, are often located in church or nonprofit parking lots in a farmers’ market-style distribution, while the Senior Grocery Program provides low-income seniors with supplemental nutrition at the end of the month, when seniors’ financial resources are often depleted. (Over a quarter of those SHBB serves are seniors.)

Despite last year’s record level of food distribution, the end of pandemic-era assistance programs has triggered an explosion in demand, and SHBB estimates that a near-doubling of its annual capacity, to 25 million pounds, is required to adequately serve those struggling with food insecurity.

In March of 2024, in partnership with Hampton Roads Ventures, CCG Community Partners, and Truist Bank, Crescent closed on a $13.0M Federal NMTC financing to upgrade and expand its existing facilities, technology, programs and staff. An $11 million facility expansion will fund:

Volunteer Hub – a dedicated food-loading workspace to separate volunteers from forklift operators and improve safety;
Community Training Center – a space for training food safety and nutrition education specialists;
Community Wellness and Education Center – a demonstration kitchen to educate food-insecure persons in gardening, nutrition, food preparation and cooking – resulting in self-sufficiency and better nutrition;
Agricultural Education Center – a new, outdoor education area for demonstrations and workshops, to include a greenhouse, room for additional gardens, raised beds and row crops, plus a composter to generate soil and reduce landfill waste.

Eight new full-time staffers will be leveraged to supervise the planned aggressive expansion in output, new equipment will ease the difficulties SHBB encounters in serving its rural clients, and new technology will support both better internal performance and improve cooperation with the 135 nonprofit partners SHBB collaborates with to serve its highly-disadvantaged, “majority-minority”, mostly rural client base within its sixteen-county service area. SHBB’s significantly improved capability in its designated role as the North Florida Disaster Hub will also greatly benefit its clientele, whose poverty renders them especially vulnerable to climate change-induced extreme weather events.

Metrocrest Services

March 1, 2024 by

For more than 50 years, Metrocrest Services (“Metrocrest”) has provided programs for individuals, families and seniors that lead to self-sufficiency and foster independence. Every day, Metrocrest offers a comprehensive bundle of services to address gaps in finances, employment and nutrition to help holistically end poverty for residents of Addison, Carrollton, Coppell, Farmers Branch and the City of Dallas in Denton County.

The Metrocrest Services Bundled Model is a holistic approach that has three areas of focus: Basic Needs (housing stabilization and food), Financial Capability (education and coaching) and Workforce Development (job counseling, GED preparation and certifications/education). Focusing on a client-centered approach, Case Manager Coaches (CMC’s) build trust and empower clients through one-on-one coaching sessions where clients drive the conversations.

With this approach, Metrocrest clients build upon their past successes and are able to construct a stable foundation for their future. A recent survey of clients who sought help in the previous 18-months underscores the success and stability found with the agency’s help: 66 percent of families reported at least 6 months of housing stability after receiving rent assistance and 85 percent reported a better understanding of their finances after working with a case manager or utilizing educational resources. In FY23, Metrocrest Services assisted 22,006 unduplicated individuals and distributed 3,793,238 meals through its food programs (food pantry and seasonal programs).

Metrocrest Services is committed to building a stronger community together – a thriving community for all. As the only agency providing a comprehensive approach to social services in northwest Dallas County, Metrocrest is uniquely positioned to provide the tools and resources for individuals, families, and seniors to respond to crises, get out of poverty, and stabilize. Having celebrated its 50th anniversary year in 2021, the Board of Directors turned its focus on the next 50 years. Looking towards the future, Metrocrest developed a plan to increase capacity and improve services and programs through the construction of a new facility to focus on expanded client services and community engagement.

In February of 2024, in partnership with Enterprise Bank, PeopleFund Advisors, and Capital One Bank, Crescent closed on a $15.5M Federal NMTC financing to construct a new facility, which has expanded Metrocrest Services’ breadth of services in the Dallas area.

The new 48,000 square-foot facility has quickly become the epicenter of Metrocrest Services’ daily operations and includes: expanded case management services, a Center for Employment and Continued Education, an expanded Food Pantry with a new Volunteer Center and allocated space for complementary services. A Training Kitchen and Teaching Garden is available for community engagement, events, and for special programming. This increase in capacity will afford Metrocrest multiple opportunities to expand current programs and introduce new services in one central location.

The $19.1M project has already created 5 new FTE positions, while greatly expanding the scope of all Metrocrest’s existing programming.

Circle Seafoods

December 31, 2023 by

Circle Seafoods (“Circle”) is revitalizing Alaska’s wild salmon industry – one of the most healthy, sustainable natural resources in the world – by simplifying and streamlining the cold chain. Consumers want premium wild salmon year-round at farmed salmon quality and consistency but can’t get it due to a cold chain that hasn’t changed since the early1900s. Wild salmon today is low quality, inconsistent, and only available a few months per year. Circle is solving this by building and operating mobile, cost-effective, ultra-low temperature fish freezing and cold storage facilities on the water. This results in higher-quality wild salmon produced at a lower cost (-65%), a lower carbon footprint (-50%) and wild salmon supply that is available year-round.

In December of 2023, in partnership with Hampton Roads Ventures, Alaska Growth Capital, CEI Capital Management, and US Bank, Crescent closed on a $23.0M Federal NMTC financing to construct a cold storage facility and a salmon processing facility on top of a barge. Wild salmon will be purchased and frozen on the barge in Bristol Bay, Alaska and SE Alaska from June to September. The salmon will then be processed on the barge from September to June in Aberdeen, Washington.

Circle’s model can bring substantial benefit to Alaskan communities by providing year-round processing jobs. The state has supported significant investments in processing throughout Bristol Bay and along Alaska’s west coast. Outside of the salmon fishing season, land-based plants are either shuttered or underutilized because of lack of access to salmon. Circle’s ability to preserve fish quickly during the season and then provide access to supply year-round maximizes these existing investments and offers compelling year-round employment opportunities for the members of these communities.

The mobile infrastructure and business model create additional revenue for Alaskans and their communities through four primary channels:

Increased income for all fishers, tied to quality,
Increased year-round employment opportunities in economically distressed and rural communities in Alaska,
Increased tax revenue
Direct fisher education on quality and thus income enhancing practices.

Assuming 20% of Circle’s total supply stays in Alaska for processing, Circle will generate 120 full-time jobs in 2024, 400 full-time jobs in 2025, 840 full-time jobs in 2026, and 1,120 full-time jobs in 2027. Circle estimates that 134 direct jobs and 113 indirect and induced jobs will be created in Aberdeen, WA as a result of the project. Fishers will receive a pay increase, and the project will especially benefit the historically-disadvantaged native populations.

Circle will work with local institutions to train its labor force and in doing so, enable low skilled workers to access higher wage employment opportunities, whether with Circle or elsewhere in the community. Circle will partner with Grays Harbor Technical and to implement and support programs that prepare enrollees to fill high wage and technical jobs (e.g. fabrication, accounting, welding & construction).

Hope Center

October 31, 2023 by

SA Hope Center began over 30 years ago as a benevolence ministry of Oak Hills Church. The SA Hope Center became a 501c3 nonprofit organization in 2001 and moved to its current location in the Westside on 321 N. General McMullen Drive in 2005. In 2014, the SA Hope Center’s program model took a shift from a food pantry program to a multi-faceted social service agency.

In 2014, SA Hope Center’s program model took a shift from a food pantry program to a multi-faceted social service agency that addresses the root causes of poverty to help the community become holistically sustainable.

The SA Hope Center has been serving the community on its westside campus in a donated 40+ year old portable buildings previously used for other purposes. These buildings have been “well-loved” and have served countless thousands over the past 16 years, but are currently falling apart and must be replaced.

In October of 2023, in partnership with PeopleFund Advisors and Capital One Bank, Crescent closed on a $8.0M Federal NMTC financing to construct the new Westside campus, which greatly expands SA Hope Center’s ability to serve the community in their greatest times of need, highlights of which are as follows:

400% increased capacity to provide transformational classes such as workforce training, financial literacy, and Parent University.
190% increased capacity to provide one-on-one case management services to an estimated additional 750 households annually.
New counseling room to provide clinical and spiritual counseling services.
Kids Club to fill a major gap in programming to ensure parents can focus on gaining new skills while children benefit from social, emotional, and educational programs.
Renovated food and clothing services building doubling capacity to provide services and adding climate-controlled storage and a new loading dock.
Covered interior courtyards
400% increase in administrative and support staff offices
2 new meeting spaces for visitors, meetings, and overflow programming.

SA Hope Center’s new facility plans on creating 14 jobs during the entirety of the NMTC Compliance Period, 100% of which pay above the living wage rate for Bexar County, Texas, and 100% of which that will offer benefits.

Allen University – Good Samaritan-Waverly

July 21, 2023 by

The mid-20^th century Good Samaritan-Waverly Hospital building represents the culmination of the efforts of Columbia’s Black residents to establish modern healthcare facilities amidst the Jim Crow system of segregation prevailing in South Carolina before the advent of the modern Civil Rights Movement. The long-anticipated fruit of the 1938 merger of the city’s Waverly and Good Samaritan Hospitals, the present building was completed as a state-of-the-art facility in 1952 and included operating rooms, x-ray equipment, fifty beds, and a nurse training facility.

Despite the hospital’s comprehensive suite of services, operating margins were tight, due to a high debt load and persistently low reimbursement rates for care. In the wake of desegregation, Richland County completed a new, racially-integrated general hospital, which prompted the closure of Good Samaritan-Waverly in 1973.

The shuttered hospital was acquired in 1987 by Allen University, an HBCU founded in 1870 whose main campus is across the street. A succession of plans were considered over the years, and in 2008 the building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Subsequent to the appointment of President Ernest McNealey, in late 2017, plans began to coalesce around an adaptive re-use for the hospital. Fundraising commenced, but by the end of 2019 a significant gap remained.

In August of 2020, Crescent Growth Capital was hired to provide historic preservation consulting and tax credit arranger services on a contingent fee basis. Crescent authored the Historic Preservation Certification Application for South Carolina State Historic Tax Credits and Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits, successfully advancing an argument to justify the corner addition proposed for the project by pointing to the mid-block siting of the hospital at the time of its completion.

From a structuring standpoint, as tax credit arranger Crescent sourced $12 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocation authority, combined the resulting subsidy with federal and state historic tax credits, and took advantage of the South Carolina Abandoned Building Tax Credit to bring over $4 million in bottom-line benefit to the project.

In 2023, Allen University inaugurated the Waverly-Clyburn Building, within the original hospital, along with the Boeing Center auditorium, constructed as an addition. Building uses include a home for Allen’s newly-established school of education, for teacher training; a permanent home for the Institute for Civility; a newly-established South Carolina African-American Hall of Fame; and a new home for the university’s seminary.

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