The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) recently announced $5 billion in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) awards.
The funding marks the 20th round of NMTC allocations, which seek to spur investment and economic growth in low-income communities nationwide.
The CDFI Fund selected 104 Community Development Entities (CDEs) to receive funding this year from a pool of 196 applications that requested $14.7 billion in tax credit allocation authority. The recipients are headquartered in 35 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.
Recipients included a number of organizations familiar to the affordable housing industry, including The Community Builders CDE, which received a $50 million allocation for its eighth NMTC award. The organization said it has deployed its previous awards to support 38 projects across 11 states and Washington, D.C., including a transit center in Pittsburgh, an arts and recreation center in Chicago, and an early learning center in Boston.
The CDFI Fund also allocated $65 million in NMTCs to the Colorado Growth and Revitalization Fund. The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) administers the tax credits through the CGR Fund, a CDE that operates in partnership with the city and county of Denver. Recent developments supported by the CGR Fund through NMTCs include the Urban Peak Mothership, an innovative campus that offers shelter and housing opportunities along with supportive services for youths experiencing homelessness.
McCormack Baron Salazar’s CDE also received a $50 million allocation, bringing its total NMTC awards to $575 million.
Since 2006, MBS Urban Initiatives CDE has bridged crucial funding gaps for nearly 70 projects, including schools, grocery stores, retail spaces, light industrial sites, mixed-use developments, and cultural centers—all driven by community-identified needs, said the organization.
Cinnaire New Markets, Corporation for Supportive Housing, Habitat for Humanity, Local Initiatives Support Corp., MHIC NE New Markets, Housing Partnership Network, and Travois New Markets also received awards.
A full list of awardees can be found here.
Overall, more than 20% of the latest NMTC investments will be made in rural communities. It is estimated that these award recipients will make nearly $1.2 billion in NMTC investments in non-metropolitan counties.
The awards are made through the calendar year 2023 round, reported federal officials.
They bring the total amount awarded through the NMTC program to more than $81 billion. Historically, NMTC awards have generated $8 of private investment for every $1 invested by the federal government. Through the end of fiscal year 2023, award recipients deployed more than $63.6 billion in investments in low-income communities and businesses, with impacts such as the creation or retention of more than 894,000 jobs, and the construction or rehabilitation of nearly 259.5 million square feet of commercial real estate.
