Daycare or Early Childhood | New Markets Tax Credit Coalition

Noble Learning Center

A promotional postcard from the Finance Fund led to a permanent, high quality facility for the Noble Learning Center located in Caldwell, OH. Caldwell is a town of less than 2,000 in the southeast portion of Ohio. Noble had been in business for years but struggling with the limited availability of space, high rent, low quality facilities, and poor fit. The Center operated out of rented apartments on the second floor of a senior center in rural Ohio with no option to renew their lease. With the $600,000 New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) loan financing provided by the Finance Fund, the Noble Center finally found a permanent home. After connecting with the Finance Fund, Noble Learning Center purchased a former National Guard armory building and began major renovations. Funds received from the Finance Fund and other sources were used for these renovations, as well as for the purchase of furniture, equipment and supplies. Thanks to this partnership the Center can continue its legacy of being the only licensed child care provider in a four-county region. The resulting child care center provides services for 136 children. The productive reuse of the abandoned 14,880 square foot building has become an economic engine in the local community. Noble Learning Center has been home to the Junior League, 4-H Groups, Noble County Business Fair, and other community events and services. The financing structure was comprised of a first mortgage from Advantage Bank of Cambridge, Ohio in the amount of $242,500, and a second mortgage loan of $600,000 as a NMTC investment via a blind loan pool capitalized by investors (Fifth Third Bank/Fifth Third CDC and Key Bank/Key Bank CDC). Since the total development cost of the project exceeded the stabilized value of the real estate and this nonprofit organization had little to no equity to contribute, the support of the Finance Fund through its NMTC loan and technical assistance were vital to bring the project to fruition.

Little Havana Social Services

Multipurpose facility with senior center and adult and child day care, activity center, nutrition center, and FQHC clinic.

Educare Central Maine

NTMC financing funded Educare Central Maine, the first Educare site in New England. This early-childhood education center is designed to serve between 150 and 200 mostly low-income children from before they are born to age five, preparing children to enter kindergarten engaged, health, and socially and emotionally ready to succeed.

Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest

The project is the construction of 58,000 SF learning facility in the Midway Neighborhood of Saint Paul, MN. The new design will include increased accessibility, larger space for learning, and optimized volunteer engagement in the Twin Cities Community. + JAUM provides age appropriate programs concentrating on financial literacy, college career readiness and entrepreneurship for K-12 students. Through JAUM students learn how to process information, apply basic skills, think critically and solve problems.

Ontario Court

Ontario Court is the rehabilitation of an 85-year old, three-story building in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C., into a mixed-use facility serving low- and moderate-income residents. The “near-gut-rehab” renovation preserves 27 units of affordable housing in the gentrifying neighborhood, and creates 4,000 square feet of commercial space to house the new Jubilee JumpStart Early Childhood Development Center. Completed in 2009, the building houses six one-bedroom units, 18 two-bedroom units and three units with three bedrooms. A new laundry facility for the residents has been added to the building’s basement. Unit renovations also include new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems; installation of new security systems; and air conditioning.

Educare Springfield

Educare Springfield, the first Educare school in Massachusetts, will soon serve 141 Head Start-eligible young children and their families with a full-day, year-round early education program. The school, located in the highly distressed Old Hill neighborhood, will be a landmark lab school for best practices and an essential resource for Springfield College, Springfield Technical Community College, Springfield Public Schools and the early education community across the state for training and providing professional development for future teachers, social workers, and researchers. Educare Springfield will also pursue opportunities for partnerships and collaborations in the local community. The project would not have been possible without financing from the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) from MassDevelopment, the hard work of foundations, city and state officials, and two anonymous donations.

Crispus Attucks Children’s Center

The Crispus Attucks Children’s Center (CACC) was founded in 1971 in Dorchester and serves nearly 239 children and their families in Boston’s highest need neighborhoods (Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan and Hyde Park). The proposed financing will address deferred maintenance and essential capital replacement needs, especially replacement of the failing HVAC system in one building that has necessitated ongoing repair expense.

East Topeka Learning Center

financing through the New Markets Tax Credits program to develop the center, which will focus on adult education, on a 6-acre former Army Reserve property at 2014 S.E. Washington.

Educare San Jose

ECSV is a collaborative project among 16 public institutions and private groups who provided financial support, including FIRST 5 Santa Clara County, the Franklin-McKinley School District, East Side Union School District, the Santa Clara County Office of Education, the Health Trust, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Despite the generous support of private foundations, the project faced a funding gap, so in the summer of 2014, U.S. Bank and Opportunity Fund turned to the NMTC to provide financing for construction of the new $14.8 million, 28,000 square-foot facility. “Opportunity Fund was thrilled to support the construction of Educare’s beautiful new facility, which will provide early childhood education to 160 of the community’s most vulnerable children,” said Jeff Wells, Director of Opportunity Fund’s New Markets Tax Credits program. This is the seventh Educare facility financed by the New Markets Tax Credit program nationwide, which has financed more than a thousand community facilities in low-income areas across the country, and the fifth Educare site that U.S. Bank subsidiary U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation has financed.

Lotus Village

As of early 2016, Lotus House, a nonprofit homeless services provider, served over 400 women, youth, and children annually in an undersized, functionally obsolete, and aging facility. Because of the great need for homeless services in Miami-Dade County, Lotus House was forced toturn away over 2,500 people each year. To address this need, Lotus Endowment Fund, Inc. sought to develop the Lotus Village project, a 100,000 sq. ft. comprehensive homeless services facility. Lotus Village will not only house, heal, and empower women, youth, and children, it will expand on the over 95,000 meals, 73,000 shelter bed nights, and 4,500 counseling sessions per year provided by Lotus House. Construction of the new facility required approximately $28.6 million in total development costs. Project financing includes New Markets Tax Credt (NMTC) equity, $19 million in short term debt from Bank of America, NA, and approximately $2.7 million in sponsor equity. Banc of America Community Development Corporation is the NMTC investor. ESIC New Markets Partners Limited Partnership is providing $9 million in NMTC Allocation to the project. Florida Community Loan Fund, Inc. and Banc of America CDE, LLC are also providing $13.5 million and $4 million, respectively, in NMTC allocation to the Project. This transaction was brought to Enterprise by SB Friedman Development Advisors. Thanks to the NMTC, The Lotus Village project is anticipated to be completed in March 2018, providing many community impacts that will benefit Miami-Dade County. Lotus Village is projected to generate 73 new permanent FTE jobs and will continue its efforts to hire locally, including on numerous occasions hiring clients/patients that are employment ready. The project includes 140 campus-style, living units; a children’s wellness center and daycare facility; a community health clinic; a commercial kitchen to prepare healthy food for the guests, which also serves as a classroom for training and nutrition programs; and space for the education, counseling and job training programs. Once completed, the project will serve approximately 300,000 meals annually to guests of the project and individuals in the community. The Lotus Health and Wellness Clinic will serve women and children with seven exam rooms, two dental chairs, and a room specially designed for eye care. The onsite Bright Spirit Children’s Wellness Center and daycare will serve approximately 72 infants, toddlers, and pre-school age children. Daycare services are open to homeless families at Lotus Village and members of the surrounding community. A pavilion and onsite gardens will be the location for meals and group activities and support Lotus Village’s healing mission.