COLUMBIA, MD.—Enterprise will use its new $95 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) award to finance environmentally sustainable developments in low-income communities.
The program will be one of the first national financing vehicles for such commercial and community developments, said Enterprise.
Under the Enterprise Green Communities NMTC Program, Enterprise will prioritize environmentally sustainable developments in utilizing its NMTC allocation. These will include developments that incorporate energy efficiency and renewable energy and healthy building techniques as well as transit-oriented and brownfield reclamation developments across the country.
The program will provide tax credit financing and technical services to ensure developments achieve significant economic, health, and environmental benefits as measured against nationally recognized green building standards, including the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System and the Green Communities Criteria for affordable housing.
“Enterprise’s long-standing leadership position in green affordable housing through our Green Communities initiative is now extended to commercial development projects that create jobs, provide critical services, and stimulate growth in distressed neighborhoods on an environmentally sustainable basis,” said Joe Wesolowski, senior vice president for structured finance at Enterprise Community Investment, Inc.
Enterprise was one of 32 community development entities to recently receive an allocation of the $1.5 billion in supplemental NMTCs. The tax credits are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Enterprise’s $95 million was the single largest award in the recent round. It brings the organization’s total NMTC awards to $610 million.
