QLICI of the Year Award Winners Highlight Diversity of NMTC Projects

The Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits has announced the 2022 winners of its Community Development Qualified Low-Income Community Investments (QLICI) of the Year awards. These awards honor community development entities (CDEs) who strive for excellence in community development. CDEs may qualify for their QLICIs in properties in four areas: metro, non-metro, operating business, and real estate.

Metro QLICI

Four CDES, U.S. Bancorp Community Development Entity (USBCDE), Lendistry, Building America CDE Inc., and New Markets Support Co. (LISC LA), dedicated a combined $30 million in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) to support Destination Crenshaw in Los Angeles, California. Destination Crenshaw is located on a 1.3-mile stretch of Crenshaw Avenue and consists of an outdoor art museum and culture commerce corridor. Destination Crenshaw aims to boost economic development, job creation, and environmental healing in the community while simultaneously celebrating Black art and culture.

Destination Crenshaw will contain DC Thrive, a business resiliency program for minority-owned legacy businesses, and Sankofa Park, a 40,000-square-foot area with green space and art installations. Upon its completion, Destination Crenshaw will sustain 30 local Black and minority-owned businesses and nonprofits, create jobs, showcase local artists and microbusinesses, and serve students.

Nonmetro QLICI

USBDCE used $3.3 million in NMTCs to help finance the acquisition of Ogaakaaning Wild Rice at the Red Lake Nation of Chippewa in Bemidji, Minnesota, an operating business for the production and distribution of northern Minnesota and Canadian wild rice. The NMTCs funded a loan to the Travois New Markets, which then advanced a QLICI loan to Ogaakaaning to provide almost $1 million in working capital. The funding will also help purchase additional equipment and inventory for the business and provide financing to multiple qualified low-income community businesses owned or led by Native American individuals or tribes.

Operating Business QLICI

The Rose Urban Green Fund and DV Community Investment allocated NMTCs to allow Coffee Café Bakery in Atlanta, Georgia, to create more than 100 jobs. Ninety-eight percent of those jobs will go to low-income individuals or residents of low-income communities. Using these funds, four minority business owners will renovate and outfit a warehouse into a small central baking facility to create a business in an area of the city that has poverty and unemployment rates well above the national average. The finished bakery will be able to produce an estimated 31 million baked goods each year and distribute those goods within a 100-mile radius.

Real Estate QLICI

Cinnaire, Indianapolis Redevelopment CDE, and PNC Community Partners, Inc. allocated $15.5 million in NMTCs to develop the Ivy Tech Automotive Technology Center, a new facility for Ivy Tech’s Automotive Technology Program in Indianapolis, Indiana. The 59,000 square-foot educational facility is expected to increase enrollment from 300 to 600 students, all of whom will have access to a paid cooperative education opportunity with 100% job placement at Toyota and General Motors. Graduates can expect to earn an estimated salary of $50,000 per year. In addition, the Center will help support and develop the Lafayette Square Area, which the city is revitalizing.

Call Savage & Associates Today

If you want more information about NMTCS and similar opportunities available to you, call our offices at 215.880.9441 in Philadelphia or 202.817.3941 in Washington D.C. and schedule a time to speak with us today. You also can find Savage & Associates online 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to learn more about our extensive range of services. Dionne Savage is here to help you access the benefits of economic development tools such as New Markets Tax Credits, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, C-PACE, and Historic Tax Credits. These programs can give you the resources to revitalize and build up communities across the United States. With our legal advice and your ideas, we can work to achieve your dreams for your community.