Guest Post, David Clower, President & CEO, National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC)
The Revolution Mill complex revitalization project in Greensboro, North Carolina, is nearing the finish line, but the adaptive reuse project has already generated a broad economic impact on the region. Originally built in 1898, the mill was a cornerstone of Greensboro’s industrial era, contributing significantly to the city’s growth and prosperity through textile production. However, by the early 2000s, the mill had become vacant and was deteriorating. Thankfully, a bipartisan tax credit program exists to help bring capital to underserved urban and rural communities that rarely attract this type of funding—the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC).
Recognizing its potential for redevelopment, a collaborative effort was undertaken to rehabilitate the site. Central to this effort was the involvement of Self-Help, a nonprofit organization known for its work in community development and economic empowerment. Self-Help played a crucial role in financing the project and guiding its development, ensuring that it aligned with broader community and economic goals.
The rehabilitation of Revolution Mill utilized a combination of financial mechanisms, including the NMTC and the Historic Tax Credit (HTC). The NMTC program provided vital funding by offering tax incentives to investors willing to support projects in low-income areas. The HTC program, on the other hand, allowed for the preservation of the mill’s historical features, integrating its rich heritage into the modern redevelopment.
The redevelopment of Revolution Mill is a powerful testament to what can be achieved when innovative financing tools like the NMTC and the HTC are combined with visionary development partners like Self-Help. As an experienced CDE, the National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC) has been privileged to provide more than $50 million in NMTC allocation in North Carolina since 2000, and this project highlights the transformative impact of the NMTC program. The revitalization of Revolution Mill not only preserves a historic landmark but also demonstrates how federal tax credits drive meaningful economic growth and opportunity in underserved communities.
The redevelopment transformed the once-abandoned mill into a thriving mixed-use space, encompassing office spaces, retail stores, restaurants, and residential units. This revitalization not only preserved a historic landmark but also stimulated local economic growth. The project has created jobs, attracted new businesses, and contributed to the overall vibrancy of the community.
The NMTC was essential to the financing and enabled the creation of 600 temporary predevelopment or construction FTE jobs, and by 2023 the project had created 850 permanent FTE jobs at 130 tenant businesses. The project attracted 51 minority and women-owned entrepreneurs to the space and also supported the development of 184 residential units of which 38 are income-restricted units leased at rates affordable to households earning 80 percent of area median income.
One of the most efficient community economic development tools for low-income communities ever enacted, NMTCs have leveraged an unprecedented level of investment in both rural and urban low-income communities, generating over $135 billion in total capital investment through public-private partnerships and creating more than one million jobs across the country. In North Carolina alone, the NMTC program has helped 141 projects, facilities, and businesses, including adding 17,200 permanent FTE jobs and 21,300 temporary FTE construction jobs, with $2.94 billion in total project financing through 2023.
At the close of 2020, the NMTC was set to expire. Instead, it received a five-year, $25 billion extension in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the largest extension in the history of the tax credit. This extension provided much-needed investments and advancement opportunities for underserved communities across the country, including many in North Carolina.
The NMTC program, however, is presently on track to expire once again in 2025.
During this Congress, both the U.S. Senate and House introduced the New Markets Tax Credit Extension Act, H.R.2539 and S.234, with bipartisan support to make the NMTC extension permanent. Establishing permanence will provide certainty in delivering resources to low-income and marginalized communities, creating jobs, increasing economic opportunity, and improving lives at a time when underserved communities face significant challenges.
We are calling on all North Carolina members of Congress to continue to ensure this resource be available—permanently—and integrate the NMTC into America’s plan to help underserved and marginalized communities in North Carolina and across the country.
The Revolution Mill rehabilitation stands as a successful model of how adaptive reuse can rejuvenate historic sites, drive economic development, and strengthen community ties for decades to come—let’s ensure the federal program that made it possible lasts just as long.
David Clower, President & CEO, National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC)
