NMSC reports strong 2012 investment activity to revitalize commercial corridors in low-income neighborhoods

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New Markets Support Company (NMSC), an affiliate of LISC, invested $91 million during 2012 and helped create more than 1,900 jobs by utilizing the federal New Markets Tax Credit program to spur redevelopment of blighted areas.

CHICAGO, IL – March 29, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — New Markets Support Company (NMSC) invested $91 million during 2012 and helped create more than 1,900 jobs by utilizing the federal New Markets Tax Credit program to spur redevelopment of blighted areas.

NMSC President Kevin Boes commented on 2012 results today, noting the company ended the year with approximately $800 million in New Markets allocation under management.

NMSC uses New Markets capital to support critical community projects such as inner-city retail development, rural manufacturing facilities, charter schools, refurbished industrial sites, new office space, neighborhood recreational space and community health centers—all in areas with high rates of poverty and unemployment.

Much of that connects to the work of NMSC’s parent—the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)—and its New Markets investment activity, which NMSC manages. It also reflects the organization’s expansion into syndication and other third-party services. In 2012, NMSC began managing investments and providing underwriting, accounting and compliance services for other companies and organizations operating in the New Markets arena.

“2012 was an exciting year for us,” Boes said. “We grew our core business with LISC’s national New Markets program. We developed a strong foothold in our new services business. And we launched innovative new investment funds focused on the needs of businesses and residents in low-income communities. We are building on that in 2013.”

New funds include a Small Business Loan Fund and the recently announced Healthy Futures Fund, which connects affordable housing development to affordable health care through grants, loans and equity investments in impoverished neighborhoods.

“Both of the funds are working to fill voids for capital and services,” Boes explained. “Small businesses, especially in distressed areas, have a tough time getting the capital they need to replace equipment, refinance debt or build new facilities. We can help them do that with New Markets capital.

New Markets Tax Credits are issued by the Treasury Department as a way to attract private capital to commercial development in high-poverty neighborhoods. Over the last decade, the program has touched 3,000 businesses and community facilities and spurred more than 500,000 jobs in places that need them most.

“This program is attracting the private market to neighborhoods where it would not otherwise invest,” Boes said. “It is a catalyst for change in places where unemployment is often staggering and myriad economic challenges cripple growth. Our most troubled communities need this program.”
About New Markets Support Company

New Markets Support Company (NMSC) helps drives commercial development efforts in economically distressed neighborhoods across the country. Through the federal New Markets Tax Credit program, NMSC connects businesses to much-needed private capital so they can build and rehab facilities, purchase or replace equipment, refinance debt and expand their operations in neighborhoods with high rates of poverty and unemployment. NMSC manages the $778 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation of its parent, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and also syndicates and manages New Markets investments on behalf of other organizations. New Markets investments are part of a broad-based LISC strategy to raise standards of living in low-income areas. For more information, visit www.newmarkets.org or www.lisc.org.

Contact:

Kevin Boes, NMSC President
312-697-6467 or

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