Roeder & Company, LLC announces the closing of a $10 million Federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing for Heritage University’s campus expansion in Toppenish, Washington. Roeder & Company sourced the allocation from Dakotas America, LLC.

Heritage is a private, non-profit university serving rural and low-income students, many of them the first in their families to attend college.  The university has a three-phase strategic plan in place to increase the undergraduate population from 800 currently to 2,000 students over the next five years by constructing new buildings on campus, expanding scholarship support and enhancing academic programs and student services.  The NMTC net derived benefit was used to complete the funding of Phase II, which involves the construction of two new buildings on campus that will expand its health science curriculum and provide administrative offices for current and to-be-hired faculty.

Heritage serves communities where rates of higher education attainment by people over the age of 26 is only 8% as compared to the national average of 25%.  These students may take longer than average to complete college because they need pre-college coursework, or they may need flexible class schedules to accommodate lifestyles that often already include family and work.  These facts sometimes make it more difficult for the university to finance capital projects as Heritage cannot raise revenue because tuition rates need to remain affordable for the low-income community. 

“Heritage provides the support and encouragement necessary to guide students to graduation, and this project will greatly enhance our ability to reach more individuals in the low-income community,” said Dr. John Bassett, President of Heritage University. “Removing barriers is a core tenet of our day-to-day decisions, and the NMTC financing removed any remaining barriers to achieving our Phase II strategic goals.”

“We worked nearly two years with the university and its staff to locate and close allocation for this project,” said Roeder & Company CEO Reynold Roeder. “This one was especially rewarding as it aligns so well with our mission to facilitate investments in low-income communities that increase opportunities for education and technical training,”

For more information about Heritage University, please visit www.heritage.edu.

Roeder & Company, LLC announces the closing of state historic tax credits, federal historic tax credits, and federal new markets tax credits financings for the Thomas Jefferson Tower in Birmingham, Alabama. Roeder & Company sourced $6.5 million in Federal NMTC allocation from Brownfield Revitalization, LLC and $3.5 million in federal historic tax credit equity for the rehabilitation of the Thomas Jefferson Tower. The project also received $3.8 million in state historic tax credit equity.

Reed Realty Advisors and its partners will transform the 19-story Thomas Jefferson Tower from a vacant and deteriorating historic landmark into a unique entertainment and event venue in a rejuvenated downtown area in Birmingham.  Project plans include renovation and redevelopment of the 160,000 square-foot Thomas Jefferson Tower complex into a building with 96 apartment units (of which 21 are reserved for affordable housing) and 25,000 square feet of commercial space including a 14,000 square-foot indoor/outdoor event space with a restored ballroom, dining rooms, private terrace, and rooftop pool/entertainment deck. Due to the net benefit from the tax credit financings, the developer team can incorporate affordable housing and healthy food access as components of the $16 million rehabilitation and renovation.

“The tax credit financings will enable us to meet two very apparent needs of the neighborhood,” said Scott Reed, founding principal of Reed Realty Advisors. “Birmingham has a vacancy rate of 1%, making it difficult for residents of the community to secure housing. There is also a lack of grocery stores in the immediate area, so we used some of the tax credit funding and dedicated it toward establishing a food co-op delivery center so the community can have ready access to affordable and nutritious produce.”

“We have been working with the developer team for nearly a year to bring this financing package together. The complexity of bringing together three sources of tax credit financing proved a significant challenge, however, these programs made it possible for the project to address some of the most pressing needs of the low-income community,” said Reynold Roeder, CEO of Roeder & Company, LLC.

Construction on the Thomas Jefferson Tower will begin in February 2015, and is expected to be complete by December 2015. Reed Realty Advisors, LLC, provides a full range of real estate consulting, asset management, and construction consulting services to some of the country’s largest public and private real estate owners and investors with offices in Los Angeles, San Jose, and Portland. For more information about Reed Realty Advisors, please visit www.reedrealtyadvisors.com.

The article at the following link contains several exciting updates on the Salvation Army Female Emergency Shelter (SAFES) capital improvements that were funded through an Oregon NMTC transaction that closed in June 2014, as well as some key insights into the specific needs of homeless women in Portland: http://news.streetroots.org/2015/01/06/more-shelter-storm-safes-prepares-expand-housing-opportunities-women.

Roeder & Company, LLC and Enhanced Community Development announce the closing of an $8 million Oregon New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing for Pacific Recycling Inc.’s installation of an industrial shredder on a parcel of land adjacent to their existing scrap metal recycling facility in Eugene, Oregon.

Pacific Recycling, Inc. (PRI) was founded in 1985 by Rod Schultz, who launched PRI after growing up in the scrap industry.  The NMTC financing leveraged previous investments made in the shredder complex, generating funds that will be utilized to finish the installation of the supporting shredder infrastructure.  This large capital investment will enable PRI, as a small business, to become more competitive in the scrap metal recycling industry.  The NMTC net benefit will also be used to hire and train residents of the surrounding low-income community to operate the shredder and related equipment.

“The completion of our shredder project establishes PRI as a long-term player in the industry, and it would not have come to fruition without NMTC financing and the assistance we received from Roeder & Company,” said Rod Schultz, CEO of PRI.   

“The PRI transaction demonstrates the flexibility inherent in the NMTC program.  There were a multitude of leases, lenders, and regulators in this transaction and that created some hurdles.  However, as a team we were able to structure within each party’s constraints and successfully close the NMTC financing,” said Roeder & Company CEO Reynold Roeder.

The shredder is expected to commence operation in February 2015.  For more information about PRI, please visit www.pacificrecyclinginc.net.

Roeder & Company, LLC and Enhanced Community Development announce the closing of a $7.1 million Oregon New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transaction to help fund the construction of a new administrative headquarters building, a new Latino public market, and the rehabilitation of an existing community center. Roeder & Company also sourced $10 million in Federal NMTC allocation from Raza Development Fund for the project.

Hacienda CDC, a Latino Community Development Corporation that strengthens families by providing affordable housing, homeownership support, economic advancement and educational opportunities, is using the State and Federal NMTC net benefit to complete the funding necessary to construct a new headquarters building and the Portland Mercado, as well as rehabilitate the aging Baltazar Ortiz Community Center. The combined State and Federal NMTC financing will also generate funds that will be utilized to build Hacienda’s agency capacity to further serve families in the low-income communities surrounding the aforementioned three projects.

“Without the financing provided through the New Markets Tax Credit Program, Hacienda would not have been able to complete these projects in 2015,” said Victor Merced, Hacienda CDC Executive Director and Roeder & Company Advisory Board Member.  “This financing has enabled Hacienda to dramatically increase its program offerings to the Latino low-income community in Portland.”

The headquarters will provide badly needed space for existing staff which is currently located at 3 different facilities and will allow Hacienda to locate adjacent to many of its housing units to better serve the needs of residents. The building will be in the Cully Neighborhood of Northeast Portland, which is Portland's most ethnically diverse neighborhood with 51% of residents representing communities of color.

The Portland Mercado is a Latino public market that will serve as a business incubator for low-income community members. Based on the Mercado Central model in Minneapolis, the Portland Mercado will be a physical space in which members of the community will provide the opportunity for entrepreneurs to grow and expand their businesses while receiving cultural and business training from Hacienda. The Mercado will serve as a center for the Latino community in the Portland region and as a destination for those seeking a unique cultural and culinary experience. The Mercado will also be a community resource, providing a venue for trusted financial, legal and social services to help Latino families grow household assets.

The Baltazar Ortiz Community Center is a 7,812 sq. ft. commercial facility that houses a county health clinic and family resource center. The Ortiz Center places important Multnomah County health and social service programs in the heart of an at-risk community, and helps many residents access the health care they need. As the building is approaching its fifteenth year, Hacienda needs to make much needed repairs as existing systems reach the end of their useful life. These items include new sidewalks to meet current city standards, a new HVAC system, and a new roof.

 “Our relationship with Hacienda dates back two years.  During that time we introduced Hacienda to the program and then worked with them to structure their three projects in a manner that allowed for both the use of federal and state New Markets Tax Credits while accommodating existing lenders and grant providers in the three different physical locations.  The transaction had its challenges, but the team overcame them all,” said Reynold Roeder, CEO of Roeder & Company, LLC.

Hacienda CDC was formed in 1992 in response to the declining standard of living among Hispanic immigrants in Portland’s lower-income communities. Hacienda has 381 community-centered, affordable rental housing units for over 1,500 residents, 70% of whom are first or second generation Hispanic immigrants and over 95% of whom are people of color. Residents typically earn less than 50% of family median income for the area and more than half are school-aged youth. For more information about Hacienda CDC, please visit www.haciendacdc.org.

Roeder & Company, LLC and Enhanced Community Development announce the closing of an $8 million Oregon New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing for the new campus of Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) in downtown Portland, Oregon.  PNCA is currently working on a $29 million renovation of the historic post office building at 511 NW Broadway into the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Art and Design.

PNCA, founded in 1909, is Oregon’s flagship college of art and design.  In the last seven years, PNCA has doubled both the student body and full-time faculty, quadrupled its endowment, and added innovative undergraduate and graduate programs.  PNCA will continue its expansion with the completion of the new campus building, which will provide the space to continue to grow both undergraduate and graduate programs. In addition, with the increased growth, there is the opportunity to add new full time and part time positions over the coming years to support the expansion.  The influx of new students and faculty will provide economic benefits to the surrounding low-income community.

“The relocation of PNCA to 511 NW Broadway will help bridge a perceived barrier between the emerging Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood and the thriving Pearl District,” said Sarah Zahn, development manager at Gerding Edlen, the project developer.  “The hope is that this project will trigger increased investment in the community, and contribute to a vibrant ‘creative corridor’ in the central city.”

The renovation will be completed in January of 2015, in time for the spring semester.  For more information on PNCA, please visit www.pnca.edu.   

Enhanced Capital Partners (“ECP”) and Roeder & Company announce the availability of $64 million in Oregon New Markets Tax Credit Allocation for qualified Oregon projects.  ECP’s subsidiary community development entity, Enhanced Capital Development (“ECD”), has been awarded $64 million of allocation by Business Oregon, the agency of the State that administers the program.  This amount is in addition to the original award of $32 million received in October 2012.  

ECD and Roeder & Company are currently sourcing Oregon transactions that are able to use up to $8 million of Oregon New Markets Tax Credit allocation, the new maximum allocation allowed per transaction.   Reynold Roeder, CEO of Roeder & Company stated, “The increase in the cap from $4 million to $8 million increases the efficiency of the program and doubles the subsidy to the project. We are seeing a high demand from project developers for the benefits from the tax credit.”  Interested parties should contact Mr. Reynold Roeder at (503) 320-5540 or Mr. Richard Montgomery at (504) 569-7904 regarding the applicability of Oregon NMTCs to their project or capital needs.