Award Will Support Education, Vocational Training and Job Opportunities in Areas of Disinvestment 

The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) has awarded Cinnaire a $55 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Allocation. The NMTC award supports Cinnaire’s mission to advance healthy communities and will focus on projects supporting education, including early childhood, school-age children, and adults seeking vocation training opportunities through the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Chris Neary, Cinnaire SVP, Policy, Research and Advocacy, joined Treasurer of the United States Chief Lynn Malerba, U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, U.S. Representative Kweis Mfume, and CDFI Fund Director Jodie Harris to celebrate the announcement last week, which was made at Baltimore’s Lexington Market, a project made possible with NMTC investments from Cinnaire and Enterprise Community Partners.

“Lexington Market demonstrates what can be accomplished when projects in low-income communities can access needed financing for initiatives that will help revitalize them,” said Director Harris. “We often associate the New Markets Tax Credit with new buildings, but just as frequently, the tax credit allows for a new use of an existing property. The Lexington Market will breathe new life into this neighborhood by making fresh food available to residents, build local businesses and wealth, and provide a community gathering place.”

Since 2009, Cinnaire is a nine-time recipient with awards totaling $474 million.

“We’re excited to join our partners from the CDFI Fund, congressional leaders, and our industry colleagues at the Lexington Market to celebrate this announcement, which will further support projects like this,” said Chris Neary. “The NMTC program provided the financing needed to preserve the oldest public market in the country while creating jobs, bringing healthy food options to the neighborhood, and providing cultural opportunities for all residents to enjoy. Lexington Market is a prime example of the impact possible thanks to the NMTC program.”

Over the history of the program, Cinnaire has leveraged NMTC investments to finance 47 high-impact projects in disinvested communities with a total development cost of $1.6 billion. Cinnaire’s NMTC investments stimulate communities economically and provide the most vulnerable residents with access to critical services such as vocational training and childcare.

“From the Marygrove Early Child Education Center, a project providing transformative cradle-to-career education opportunities for Detroit families, to the Automotive Technology Center at Ivy Tech, the NMTC program supports a wide range of impactful community projects in urban and rural communities across the country,” said Peter Giles, Cinnaire SVP, Business Development. “We encourage our congressional leaders to prioritize this proven tax incentive for bringing investment to communities that need it most by making the NMTC program permanent.”

The CDFI Fund announcement brings the total amount awarded through the NMTC program to more than $70 billion. Historically, the NMTC Program awards have generated $8 of private investment for every $1 invested by the federal government.

“Twenty years ago, the Treasury Department announced the first New Markets Tax Credit awards, and for many economic development projects across the country since, the New Markets Tax Credit has been a vitally important piece of the puzzle,” Treasurer Chief Malerba said. “This program has created or retained hundreds of thousands of jobs and spurred economic growth in many low-income communities across our country. It is important that Congress sustain these investments over time by making the New Markets Tax Credit Program permanent.”