New York, NY, Feb. 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — New York City Regional Center is pleased to announce the closing of $19,000,000 in New Market Tax Credit financing to help fund building upgrades and ongoing operating expenses at the Armory Nike Track & Field Center in Washington Heights. The $19 million of funding will assist the non-profit Armory Foundation in continuing its robust after-school youth programming as well implementing necessary capital improvements to the 250,000 square foot complex built in 1911.
The Armory Foundation oversees the premier indoor track & field center in America and hosts over 100 track meets annually including the marquee Millrose Games. In addition to providing a training facility for thousands of athletes a year, the Armory Foundation maintains the National Track & Field Hall of Fame and operates the largest after-school activities center in New York. The goal of the Armory Foundation is to serve the area’s youth by promoting fitness, a love of sport, and the pursuit of individual excellence. The Armory College Prep High School Program provides college prep and academic counseling services to hundreds of under resourced New York City public high school students. The Armory College Prep Middle School Program offers academic support, computer science education, and high school application guidance to local middle school students.
The transaction utilized a portion of the New Market Tax Credit allocation awarded from the U.S. Department of Treasury to NYCR-CDE, a Community Development Entity managed by New York City Regional Center (“NYCRC”). To receive a New Market Tax Credit allocation award, NYCRC was required to demonstrate a mission and track record of providing investment capital for low-income communities. Examples of other economic development projects utilizing NYCRC new market tax credit financing over the past seven years include:
- Construction of the National Urban League’s new headquarters in Harlem which includes New York City’s first civil rights museum;
- Construction of four charter schools in the Bronx (KIPP NYC Charter School, DREAM Charter School, Neighborhood Charter School, and Comp Sci High);
- Construction of one charter school in Harlem (Promise Academy) and one charter school in Brooklyn (Achievement First); and,
- Expansion of St. John’s Episcopal Hospital Center in Far Rockaway.
The New Market Tax Credit Program was created by Congress in 2000 in an effort to stimulate private investment and economic growth in low-income neighborhoods and rural communities that lack access to capital. Historically, low-income communities often have difficulty attracting investment. The program aims to break this cycle of disinvestment by attracting the private investment necessary to reinvigorate struggling local economies. Private capital is incentivized by providing federal income tax credits to investors in exchange for making equity investments in low-income neighborhoods.
About New York City Regional Center
The NYCRC was approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2008 to secure foreign investment for real estate and infrastructure projects under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. Congress created the EB-5 program to stimulate economic development through foreign investment. The program’s mandate is to use foreign investment to spur job creation while simultaneously affording eligible foreign investors the opportunity to become lawful permanent residents of the United States. The NYCRC was the first EB-5 regional center approved in New York City.
Over the past 15 years, the NYCRC has put over $1.5 billion of EB-5 capital to work across a broad spectrum of infrastructure and real estate projects in New York City. Much of this capital has been invested in underserved areas in need of long-term economic growth. Examples include:
- $811 million to finance ground-up, redevelopment, and infrastructure projects in Brooklyn, including seven projects totaling $383 million in the Brooklyn Navy Yard;
- $108.5 million to finance ground-up and redevelopment projects in Washington Heights (an Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone);
- $232.5 million to finance the construction of a public high-speed wireless infrastructure network in New York City subway stations and along city streets; and,
- $220 million to finance ground-up construction in the Bronx.
To date, twenty-two projects throughout New York City have utilized NYCRC EB-5 financing to assist in the construction of over 3.8 million square feet of new development and renovation as well as critical infrastructure initiatives. In addition to fueling economic development, NYCRC offerings have enabled over 5,600 individuals to become permanent residents of the United States through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.
About the New Markets Tax Credit Program
Established by Congress in 2000, the New Markets Tax Credit Program assists economically distressed communities attract private investment capital. This federal tax credit helps to fill project financing gaps by enabling investors to make larger investments than would otherwise be possible. Communities benefit from the jobs associated with investments in manufacturing, retail, and technology. Communities also benefit from greater access to housing and public facilities in health, education, and childcare.
Through the New Market Tax Credit Program, the U.S. Department of Treasury allocates tax credit authority to Community Development Entities (CDEs) through a competitive application process. CDEs are financial intermediaries through which investment capital flows from an investor to a qualified business located in a low-income community. CDEs use their authority to offer tax credits to investors in exchange for equity in the CDE. The tax credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period. With these capital investments, CDEs can make loans and investments to businesses operating in distressed areas that have better rates, terms, and flexibility than the market. For every $1 invested by the federal government, the New Market Tax Credit Program generates over $8 of private investment.
Since 2001, $62.9 billion in New Market Tax Credits have been invested in low-income communities resulting in the construction or rehabilitation of approximately 239 million square feet of commercial real estate.
