Building America Receives $55 Million New Markets Tax Credit Allocation from U.S. Treasury

February 23, 2018

Building America CDE (Building America) has announced that it was recently awarded an allocation of $55 million in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. Building America, which is a subsidiary of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT), uses New Markets Tax Credits to finance union built projects that revitalize neighborhoods and act as catalysts for additional community development. Building America has drawn on the strength of the HIT’s team to tackle innovative projects and bring critical services to the communities where it invests.

This is Building America’s fourth award, bringing its total to $185 million. It has deployed $117.5 million of its NMTCs to 15 projects in seven states, leveraging nearly $850 million in development.  Over the last six months BACDE has allocated $32.5 million in NMTCs to projects in New Brunswick, NJ; Buffalo, NY; and Queens, NY for combined total development investment of $218 million. The New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, Northland Central Workforce Training Center, and the Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center will each be a resource for critical services, new jobs, and increased economic impact in their surrounding communities. Development of Northland Central’s 239,500-square-foot facility will create an estimated 500 union construction jobs, 69 new permanent jobs, and retain 124 permanent jobs. The 21,865-square-foot expansion of the Far Rockaway - Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center will create approximately 108 new union construction jobs, 31 new permanent jobs, and retain 140 permanent jobs. The 78,000-square-foot New Brunswick Performing Arts Center development is expected to create approximately 410 new union construction jobs. Northland Central and Addabbo Family Health Center developments will meet environmentally responsible LEED gold and silver standards.    

Building America’s mission is to bring jobs and services to severely distressed communities as it works towards solving endemic problems of poverty and lack of access to training and job opportunities.  With this new allocation, Building America is expanding its footprint to reach additional communities and build towards a more positive future for America’s most distressed neighborhoods.