Closed transaction will help fund construction of a new Pre-K to 8^th grade DREAM charter school in the South Bronx

NEW YORK, April 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York City Regional Center is pleased to announce the closing of $15 million in New Market Tax Credit financing to assist the construction of a new 88,000 square foot charter school in the South Bronx. This is the seventh charter school that has utilized New Market Tax Credit funding from a New York City Regional Center-managed entity and the fifth in the Bronx. The new school will be home to approximately 1,145 students in Pre-K to 8^th grade and be run by DREAM, one of the city's leading charter school networks.

DREAM charter school network traces its beginnings to 1991, when a group of volunteers transformed an abandoned lot in East Harlem into two baseball diamonds for the neighborhood youth. That effort grew into Harlem RBI, an award-winning sports-based youth development organization that offered afterschool and summer programming, becoming a model and symbol of the power of play for young people everywhere. Thirty-one years later, DREAM today serves more than 2,000 children across East Harlem and the South Bronx through its network of six charter schools. At DREAM, 99% of students are Black and/or Hispanic; 88% qualify for free or reduced lunch; and 29% have identified special needs. Nearly half of DREAM alumni are first-generation college students and DREAM Charter High School has a 99% acceptance rate into college.

The recently closed $15 million transaction utilized a portion of last year's $55 million New Market Tax Credit award from the U.S. Department of Treasury to NYCR-CDE, a Community Development Entity managed by New York City Regional Center ("NYCRC"). To receive a New Market Tax Credit allocation award, NYCRC was required to demonstrate a mission and track record of providing investment capital for low-income communities.

Since 2016, NYCR-CDE has received six separate annual tax credit awards totaling $265 million. Examples of previous fundings include:

• Construction of the National Urban League's new headquarters in Harlem
• Redevelopment of both the Bedford Union Armory in Brooklyn and the Armory Track & Field Center in Washington Heights
• Expansion of St. John's Episcopal Hospital Center in Far Rockaway
• Construction of seven charter schools
  • $23 million for the DREAM Charter School in the South Bronx
  • $20 million for Achievement First Linden Middle School in Brooklyn
  • $20 million for KIPP NYC in the Bronx
  • $18 million for Neighborhood Charter School in the Bronx
  • $18 million for Promise Academy II in East Harlem
  • $15 million for Comp Sci High in the Bronx

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. The 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. Congress created the EB-5 program to stimulate economic development through foreign investment. The program's mandate is to use foreign investment to spur job creation while simultaneously affording eligible foreign investors the opportunity to become lawful permanent residents of the United States. The NYCRC was the first EB-5 regional center approved in New York City.

Over the past 15 years, the NYCRC has put over $1.5 billion of EB-5 capital to work across a broad spectrum of infrastructure and real estate projects in New York City. Much of this capital has been invested in underserved areas in need of long-term economic growth. Examples include:

• $813 million to finance ground-up, redevelopment, and infrastructure projects in Brooklyn, including seven projects totaling $385 million in the Brooklyn Navy Yard
• $108.5 million to finance ground-up and redevelopment projects in Washington Heights (an Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone)
• $232.5 million to finance the construction of a public high-speed wireless infrastructure network in New York City subway stations and along city streets
• $220 million to finance ground-up construction in the Bronx

To date, twenty-two projects throughout New York City have utilized NYCRC EB-5 financing to assist in the construction of over 3.8 million square feet of new development and renovation as well as critical infrastructure initiatives. In addition to fueling economic development, NYCRC offerings have enabled over 5,600 individuals to become permanent residents of the United States through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.

About the New Markets Tax Credit Program

Established by Congress in 2000, the New Markets Tax Credit Program assists economically distressed communities attract private investment capital. This federal tax credit helps to fill project financing gaps by enabling investors to make larger investments than would otherwise be possible. Communities benefit from the jobs associated with investments in manufacturing, retail, and technology. Communities also benefit from greater access to housing and public facilities in health, education, and childcare.

Through the New Market Tax Credit Program, the U.S. Department of Treasury allocates tax credit authority to Community Development Entities (CDEs) through a competitive application process. CDEs are financial intermediaries through which investment capital flows from an investor to a qualified business located in a low-income community. CDEs use their authority to offer tax credits to investors in exchange for equity in the CDE. The tax credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period. With these capital investments, CDEs can make loans and investments to businesses operating in distressed areas that have better rates, terms, and flexibility than the market. For every $1 invested by the federal government, the New Market Tax Credit Program generates over $8 of private investment.

Since 2001, $62.9 billion in New Market Tax Credits have been invested in low-income communities resulting in the construction or rehabilitation of approximately 239 million square feet of commercial real estate.

NYCR-CDE, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Provider.

SOURCE New York City Regional Center