CDE: Urban Action

LA Prep Kitchen

L.A. Prep is a New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financed project in Los Angeles that will serve as an incubator for 50 small- to medium-sized food producers that have outgrown their startup spaces. The anchor tenant of the project is L.A. Kitchen, which is a commercial kitchen andproduce processing hub that prepares meals and nutritious snacks for seniors and low‐income families. The concept for the L.A. Kitchen tenant is based on a similar nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. created by Robert Egger. That organization, D.C. Kitchen, has provided over 25 million meals for low-income and at-risk peoples in the 25 years since it was established. The project involved the acquisition and renovation of 56,000 square foot former warehouse in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood. In order to finance the deal, Los Angeles Development Fund and UrbanAmerica provided $16 million in NMTC allocations to fill in the needed financing for the project to be realized. Capital Impact Partners provided $11 million in leveraged debt, with $5.1 million in equity provided by U.S. Bancorp CDC. Civic Enterprise Development, real estate development firm focused on revitalizing emerging urban neighborhoods, developed the project. In collaboration with the developer, the L.A. County Health Department established special guidelines in the health code for this new and innovative type of facility, which allows for small food businesses to obtain their health permit and begin operations onsite within a week. L.A. Prep tenants receive: an exclusive production space; flexible cold, dry and frozen storage; a demonstration kitchen; co-working space and more; a staffed warehouse to assist with receiving and logistics. The anchor tenant, L.A. Kitchen will also provide job training for 80 to 100 individuals per year. The 15-week, culinary arts job training program is focused on engaging emancipated foster youth and older adults exiting the prison system. In addition, the Kitchen ensures healthy food access for 1,000 low-income seniors (estimated for its first year of operations).

Rail and Commerce

Conversion of a 1925 former UPS Railway Mail Service sorting facility into incubation space and offices.

Camillus House 2

Camillus House is a full-service center offering a comprehensive system of care for the over 4,000 homeless individuals in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1960 as a small overnight shelter to help Cuban exiles as they arrived in Miami, the organization has grown to provide services at 16 locations throughout Miami-Dade County. These services include substance abuse and mental health treatment; emergency, transitional, and permanent housing; hospitality (clothing, restrooms, showers) and food services; and healthcare through a sister organization. In 2015, Camillus House provided 350,000 free meals, treated 29,535 patients for behavioral health issues, and provided medical care to 4,200 patients. UACD provided Federal and Florida state NMTC allocation to Camillus House, the proceeds of which funded an expansion of their emergency shelter capacity by 118 beds, reactivated 28 Jail Diversion program beds, and funded an additional 120 service provision instances as part of the Lazarus Project, an outreach program for hard-to-reach homeless individuals with mental illness.

Newark Farmer’s Market

180,000 sqft food processing and distribution center with this phase consisting of 90,000 sqft: Wuhl Shafman Lieberman, Corp. is in the process of creating a modern cold-storage warehouse with the capacity to process approximately 40 million packages of fresh produce annually, which will be distributed to more than 400 existing ShopRite, A&P, and affiliated supermarkets throughout the Northeast Corridor with more than 25% being located in highly distressed census tracts. In addition, the new facility will support the development of 27 to 30 new grocery stores in the Northeast Corridor, including a new ShopRite at the Springfield Avenue Marketplace in downtown Newark.

Huntington Avenue YMCA

MassDevelopment has issued a $10.8 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of the YMCA of Greater Boston, founded in 1851 as the country’s first Y. The Y will use bond proceeds to redevelop and renovate two Ys in Boston. Improvements to the West Roxbury facility include a renovated gym and pool, a health and wellness center, a welcome center, an aquatics center, locker rooms, an expanded childcare area, enhanced space for youth sports, and programs for children with special needs. The Huntington Avenue Y’s addition will have a pool, gym, handball courts, and offices, with renovations to locker rooms, classrooms, meeting rooms, the lobby, reception area, and wellness and fitness areas. RBS Citizens, National Association, purchase the bond. The Y expects to create 150 jobs as a result of this project, along with 44 construction jobs. “MassDevelopment is pleased to help the largest provider of social services in Massachusetts improve its offerings to Bostonians,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “The creation of both permanent and construction jobs illustrates the economic impact of the Y’s work as well.” The YMCA of Greater Boston, one of the largest urban Ys, serves more than 100,000 youth, adults, and seniors a year. The organization focuses on youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. The Y also offers the Commonwealth’s largest summer youth employment program, involves more than 10,000 children a year in summer camps, and leverages resources to provide critical services for free to low-income participants. “Expertise and support from the finance professionals at MassDevelopment ensured that the Y got the best possible terms and conditions on our bond transaction,” said Y CEO Kevin Washington.

Bailey Power Plant

The Bailey Power Plant (the Project) is the adaptive re-use of a former RJ Reynolds tobacco facility that is being redeveloped by Wexford Science and Technology, LLC (‘the Sponsor’) into an 110,815 sq ft mixed-use, LEED Silver certified historic preservation project. TheProject’s tenants will include an innovation center, university research space, early stage R&D companies, and mixed-use retail and restaurants serving local neighborhoods. The Project is located on an abandoned section of 4th Street, which has experienced significant industrial flight, and is key to revitalizing downtown Winston- Salem and the newly energized Wake Forest Innovation Quarter (WFIQ) that is creating a new economy driven by discovery, commercialization and entrepreneurship for Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. The Project is located in a severely distressed census tract with a 28.2% poverty rate. As of result of the environmental contamination, an inefficient layout, and other cost factors, the Project had high development costs; and therefore, the $38 million redevelopment was not financially feasible without the NMTC subsidy. Given its focus on providing a pathway to innovation and entrepreneurship and the remediation of a Brownfield site, the Project attracted $16 million in NMTC financing from three CDEs – Urban Action Community Development (UACD) provided $8 million, City First Bank of DC $6 million, and USBCDC $2 million. The Project also included federal and state Historic Tax Credits. The Project is aligned with UACD’s mission of neighborhood transformation with a focus on catalytic projects that promote the innovation economy. The Project will have a major impact on employment and will create 283 new permanent positions, of which 10% will be accessible to low-income persons (LIPs). The Project will create 450 construction jobs, of which 80% will be accessible to LIPs and 70% of those employed will have access to medical benefits. The Project’s sponsors will collaborate and partner with local organizations to recruit LIPS in East Winston-Salem through job fairs and other strategic outreach and engagement efforts. As part of the NMTC financing, the Project’s Sponsor established a Community Benefits Fund of an estimated $400,000 to support 5,000 sq of innovation space that will be used for computer coder training and workforce development programs. Overall, the Project will provide considerable financial support to education and workforce training programs in Winston-Salem.

The Plant

Historic rehabilitation of a building into a mixed-use facility with live/work and retail space. The Plant project is located on Valley Street in the heart of Providence’s emerging mill district and calls for the conversion of a former mill complex into 17 residential rental units, 15 live/work artist lofts, 27,264 sq. ft. of commercial space, and 114 parking spaces.

Findlay Kitchen

This is the substantial rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of eight historic buildings located in a three block area of the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Once complete, the Project will provide 91,000 square feet of office, retail, restaurant, incubator, and affordable housing space.

Charles R. Drew Jr. Charter Schools

The Charles R. Drew Charter School (Drew), opened in 2000, was the first charter school in the Atlanta Public School system. The school is currently ranked first academically within the Atlanta Public School system and serves more than 1,000 students from pre-K through grade 8. Founded by the East Lake Foundation, a member of the Purpose Built Communities network, the school was launched to serve as the anchor for revitalization in the East Lake neighborhood. When Drew was founded, only 5% of 5th graders met the state’s minimum math standards. Now, over 98% of its 5th grade students meet or exceed state standards in reading, math and social sciences. The Low Income Investment Fund allocation of New Markets Tax Credits are helping to finance the construction of a new 200,000-square-foot educational facility and grow to include a high school. The new Charles R. Drew Junior and Senior Academy will double student population, enabling Drew to educate 2,000 students in pre-K through 12th grade. The LEED-Gold certified building will feature 14 science labs, a 500 seat performance space, a full-size outdoor track field, two gymnasiums and an outdoor amphitheater.

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