New York, NY, May 17, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The New York City Regional Center is pleased to announce the closing of its first New Market Tax Credit transaction. The transaction is utilizing a portion of the $65 million in New Market Tax Credits awarded by the U.S. Department of Treasury to NYCR-CDE, a Community Development Entity managed by the NYCRC. The allocation is among the first managed by an EB-5 regional center.

The NYCRC’s New Market Tax Credit allocation will provide financing to community development projects that typically face financing challenges, such as health care centers, community facilities, industrial space, grocery stores, and small business retailers located in underserved areas of New York City.

The recently closed transaction provided capital to assist with the renovation of a vacant building into a new supermarket in an area of Brooklyn in need of fresh food options. The project site is located within a Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) eligible area. The FRESH program was created by the City of New York to provide nutritious, affordable, fresh food options to underserved communities.

“We’re excited to close our first transaction and look forward to delivering financing to other areas in need of investment and continuing our role in supporting economic development and job creation,” said Mary King, NYCRC’s Chief Operating Officer.

“The New Market Tax Credit allocation is allowing the NYCRC to expand its capacity and mission to spur economic development and job creation throughout New York City,” added George L. Olsen, NYCRC’s Managing Principal.

To receive $65 million in New Market Tax Credit allocations from the U.S. Department of Treasury, the NYCRC was required to demonstrate a mission and track record of providing investment capital for low income communities. Since its designation in 2008 by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the NYCRC has secured over $1.5 billion of EB-5 capital for twenty-one economic development projects. Examples of NYCRC investment throughout New York City include:

• $220 million to finance projects in the Bronx including the construction of Fresh Direct’s new food processing and distribution center in the Harlem River Yard and the expansion of the Hutchinson Metro Center;
• $107.5 million to finance projects in Washington Heights (an Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone) including the redevelopment of the George Washington Bridge Bus Station and the construction of a mixed-use medical office facility adjacent to area hospitals;
• $912 million to finance projects in Brooklyn including seven projects within the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York City’s largest industrial park; and,
• $225 million to finance the construction of a public high-speed wireless infrastructure network in select New York City subway stations and along the city streets.

“We are pleased that the NYCRC has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Treasury as an organization with a proven track record of providing capital to areas in need of investment,” said Paul Levinsohn, NYCRC Managing Principal.

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, as evidenced by vacant commercial properties, outdated manufacturing facilities, and inadequate access to education and healthcare service providers. The New Market Tax Credit 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. The company was the first EB-5 regional center approved in New York City. To date, the NYCRC has secured over $1.5 billion of capital for twenty-one economic development projects in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx. Examples of projects utilizing loans provided by NYCRC-managed funds include the following:

• construction of Fresh Direct’s new food processing and distribution facility in the South Bronx;
• redevelopment of the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in Washington Heights;
• construction of a wireless infrastructure network in New York City’s subway stations;
• redevelopment of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York City’s largest industrial park;
• expansion of Steiner Studios, New York City’s largest film and television studio;
• construction of the City Point development in Downtown Brooklyn;
• construction of a hotel and medical office complex in Washington Heights;
• expansion of the Hutchinson Metro Center in the Bronx; and,
• construction of LinkNYC, the public-private initiative that is bringing the nation’s largest and fastest public Wi-Fi infrastructure network to the streets of New York City.

In addition to fueling economic development, NYCRC offerings have enabled over 4,600 individuals to become permanent residents of the United States through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. For more information about the NYCRC, please visit www.nycrc.com.