Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Invest Atlanta Announce $60 Million in New Markets Tax Credits

Latest allocation will bring new investment to low-income neighborhoods in Atlanta

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms today announced that Invest Atlanta has received $60 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocation from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to provide gap financing for economic development projects that help create jobs and revitalize neighborhoods in Atlanta. This latest award is the sixth given to Invest Atlanta in the last 10 years and will be used by Atlanta Emerging Markets, Inc. (AEMI), Invest Atlanta’s New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) entity, to fund catalytic development projects in low-income areas.

“My Administration is committed to increasing prosperity for all through our city’s economic development efforts, while steadfastly working to improve equity and affordability in our communities,” said Mayor Bottoms. “This latest New Markets Tax Credit award is one of the largest in the country and will provide additional funding to stimulate investment for residents in parts of our city where greater economic opportunity is needed most.”

Congress established the NMTC program in 2000 to attract investment to areas with low median income and high unemployment. The NMTC program takes private equity contributed by investors and turns it into gap financing for redevelopment projects. Investors receive non-refundable tax credits in exchange for an equity investment in a local project that demonstrates meaningful community impact. This year, a total of 230 community development entities applied for $3.5 billion of available NMTC allocation and 73 organizations, about 31 percent, received funding.

“We are pleased to see the Treasury Department continues to recognize the impact New Markets Tax Credits are making on economic revitalization and job creation in the City of Atlanta,” said Dr. Eloisa Klementich, President and CEO of Invest Atlanta. “Invest Atlanta continues to receive higher award amounts with each application, which has enabled us, through AEMI, to invest in 22 projects since 2010 that have created more than 3,250 jobs in areas that are often overlooked by conventional capital markets.”

Some of AEMI’s recent NMTC investments include:

• Pittsburgh Yards – a $6.5 million AEMI investment to help finance redevelopment at 352 University Avenue in Southwest Atlanta. The project led by the Annie E. Casey Foundation will create a vibrant, living-wage ecosystem that clusters a range of businesses together, including industrial, office, administrative, artistic and creative enterprises.
• Grady Memorial Hospital – a $12 million investment to help finance Grady’s $76,000,000 expansion and renovation of its new Emergency Department building. The recently dedicated Marcus Trauma and Emergency Center will serve 20,000 additional patients annually.
• Families First – an $8.5 million investment to convert a former Atlanta Public Schools building in Atlanta’s Westside into the organization’s new 38,000 square-foot headquarters. The new building will enable Families First to serve 52,000 children, women and families a year, many of whom report income well below the poverty line.