Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. and National Community Fund I, LLC, have closed on a $22.3 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transaction that will finance the construction of the Harrison Circle Building at the Morris Heights Health Center in the Bronx, N.Y.
The 48,700-square-foot building will expand the health-care center to serve an additional 18,000 patients per year. The facility will also include medical office space, a pharmacy, and a separate development with 70 apartments for seniors.
“Our $95 million federal stimulus NMTC allocation is going a long way to provide local economic and community development opportunities nationwide,” said Joe Wesolowski, Enterprise senior vice president, structured finance, in a statement. “This is among our first three deals to close from the stimulus round, and the NMTC program is the most effective way to bring much-needed services, retail, and office space to low-income communities.”
JPMorgan Chase served as the investor for Enterprise’s $10 million NMTC allocation and for a $12.3 million NMTC allocation from United Fund Advisors, an affiliate of the Portland Family of Funds. Enterprise also syndicated $8.3 million in low-income housing tax credit for seniors housing being built at Harrison Circle.
The new Harrison Circle Building will be built to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Rating System silver standard.
The New York City Economic Development Corp. is also partnering in the deal. National Community Fund I is an affiliate of United Fund Advisors.
The NMTC program aims to promote economic development in low-income communities.
In another deal, the YWCA Greater Los Angeles is building a new downtown campus with $70 million generated through NMTCs. It is the first project funded by the Los Angeles Development Fund (LADF), a nonprofit organization established to manage the city’s NMTC program.
The YWCA development received NMTC equity through a $15.5 million allocation from Enterprise, $15 million from the Local Initiatives Support Corp., and $20 million from LADF.
JPMorgan Chase is the investor for those tax credits from all three sources. In addition, Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the investor for $20 million in NMTCs from its own suballocation and provided critical construction and permanent loans to this development.
The YWCA is expanding its capacity to provide job training and placement opportunities to area youths with a new Job Corps Urban Campus. A 155,000-square-foot building will house the YWCA Job Corps Center and enable the YWCA to consolidate the program’s housing and services—scattered across six sites—into one location. The seven-story U-shaped building will feature a commercial kitchen for culinary training, a dining hall, classrooms, a health suite, and an exterior courtyard. Four floors are residential, with 200 dormitory-style rooms, lounges, laundry facilities, and study rooms that will house 400 Job Corps trainees. The building also will feature a gated entry and 24-hour security.
