Enterprise to Use $95 Million Recovery Act Allocation as Catalyst for Green Development, Job Creation
Green Communities New Markets Tax Credit Program Launched
Columbia, Md. – (May 29, 2009) – Through its subsidiary, ESIC New Markets Partners LP, Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. (Enterprise) received $95 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) authority from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. Enterprise is one of 32 Community Development Entities (CDEs) receiving an allocation of the $1.5 billion in NMTC awards as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This new allocation brings Enterprise’s total NMTC awards to $610 million, $515 million of which has previously been invested in low-income communities nationwide.
Enterprise will dedicate its allocation to the creation of the Enterprise Green Communities New Markets Tax Credit Program, one of the first national financing vehicles for environmentally sustainable commercial, community and mixed-use developments in low-income areas in the United States.
“Enterprise’s long-standing leadership position in green affordable housing through our Green Communities initiative is now extended to commercial development projects that create jobs, provide critical services and stimulate growth in distressed neighborhoods on an environmentally sustainable basis,” said Joe Wesolowski, senior vice president for Structured Finance, Enterprise Community Investment, Inc.
Since the inception of Green Communities in 2004, Enterprise has invested $650 million in equity, loans and grants to create more than 14,500 green affordable homes in 350 developments in 30 states. Enterprise also has trained more than 4,000 housing professionals in green affordable development and advised more than 20 states and cities in developing more environmentally sustainable affordable housing policies. The impact of this work has enabled developers in all climates and regions of the United States to build and rehabilitate homes that are healthier, more energy efficient and better for the environment – without compromising affordability.
“Based on what we are learning through Green Communities, Enterprise knows it is imperative to fully extend our environmental commitment across everything we do,” said Dana Bourland, vice president for Green Initiatives, Enterprise Community Partners. “This will bring real benefits to low-income communities and provide replicable solutions to climate change through environmentally responsible development.”
Enterprise Green Communities NMTC Program
Under the Enterprise Green Communities New Markets Tax Credit Program, Enterprise will prioritize environmentally sustainable developments in utilizing its NMTC allocation. These will include developments that incorporate energy efficiency and renewable energy and healthy building techniques as well as transit-oriented development and brownfield reclamation developments across the country.
The program will provide tax credit financing and technical services to ensure developments achieve significant economic, health and environmental benefits as measured against current nationally recognized green building standards, including the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ and the Green Communities Criteria for affordable housing.
The NMTC program, enacted into law by the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000, was created to attract private capital investment into the nation’s low-income communities to help finance community development projects, stimulate economic growth and create jobs. Considered an innovative financing tool for community development and revitalization, the NMTC program has been extended through 2009. A recent proposal by the Obama administration extends the NMTC program to 2010 with a $5 billion allocation round. Enterprise strongly supports the proposal and looks forward to working with Congress to enact the extension.
To date, Enterprise has invested in commercial and mixed-use developments in urban centers and rural communities, with development costs totaling more than $3 billion. This has resulted in six million square feet of new or rehabilitated real estate, 3,500 housing units and more than 10,000 permanent jobs created in local communities. Many of these developments meet environmentally sustainable criteria.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, to date, nearly $12 billion in private-sector capital has been invested through the NMTC program into urban and rural communities nationwide. Data reported through 2007 shows that $9 billion of NMTC capital has been invested into approximately 2,000 businesses and real estate developments. This has helped develop or rehabilitate more than 68 million square feet of real estate, create 210,000 construction jobs and create or maintain 45,000 full-time equivalent jobs at businesses in low-income communities.
Enterprise is a leading provider of the development capital and expertise it takes to create decent, affordable homes and rebuild communities. For more than 25 years, Enterprise has introduced neighborhood solutions through public-private partnerships with financial institutions, governments, community organizations and others that share our vision. Enterprise has raised and invested more than $10 billion in equity, grants and loans to help build or preserve more than 250,000 affordable rental and for-sale homes to create vital communities. Enterprise is currently investing in communities at a rate of $1 billion a year. Visit www.enterprisecommunity.org and www.enterprisecommunity.com to learn more about Enterprise’s efforts to build communities and opportunity.
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