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New Markets Tax Credits in Middletown?

Printed From: MiddletownUSA.com
Category: Middletown City Government
Forum Name: Community Revitalization
Forum Description: Middletown Community Revitalization News
URL: http://www.middletownusa.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6504
Printed Date: Mar 28 2024 at 11:14am


Topic: New Markets Tax Credits in Middletown?
Posted By: Analytical
Subject: New Markets Tax Credits in Middletown?
Date Posted: Jul 13 2017 at 6:02am
The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) arm of the U.S. Treasury Department makes available New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) to assist in the financing of community betterment projects in financially-impacted cities nationwide.  One example is the reclamation and reuse of a vacant, dilapidated movie theater in downtown Clarksburg, West Virginia.  Detailed below is a brief summary of another undertaking, the Toledo Port Expansion Lane to the Midwest in Ironville, Ohio. 

IRONVILLE 9th Congressional District

Toledo Port Expansion Opens Express Lane to the Midwest.  Called the “express lane to the heart of America,” the Port of Toledo expanded operations and increased material handling services at its Midwest terminal, located in a low-income area with a 17 percent poverty rate. Finance Fund provided a total of $15.36 million in federal and state New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing to Ironville Improvement, LLC., a subsidiary of Midwest Terminals of Toledo, Inc.

Funding enables construction of a rail system and infrastructure, an upgrade of the dock face with sheet tile, purchase and installation of a material handling system, and land improvements. The Toledo Port Expansion created 40 permanent full-time jobs and 160 construction jobs in an area where unemployment is approaching 13 percent. The Ironville site is owned by Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority (TLCPA), and operated by Midwest Terminals of Toledo, Inc.

Additional partners include TLCPA who provided a $10.2 million loan, PNC New Markets Investment Partners, LLC, the investor, provided an additional $2.5 million in federal allocation. “Finance Fund’s investment in a port authority is a first,” said President and CEO James R. Klein. “Investment in this type of multi-modal, gateway project has long-term positive impact on economic development, job creation and commerce throughout the Midwest.” Located at the mouth of the Maumee River at the west end of Lake Erie, the Port of Toledo is part of the St. Lawrence Seaway System. It’s within 20 hours drive time of 72% of the U.S. population.

The 15 terminals are open 365 days of the year and handle 12 million tons of cargo annually including coal, cement, petroleum and grain. The busy port supports Midwest routes with access to major rail systems including Norfolk-Southern and Canadian National railroads, interstate trucking (I-75/I-80/90) and air routes. With an experienced crew and heavy cranes, the terminal can lift, load, transfer and reload tonnage between rail, trucks and ships on a 24/7 fast-turn basis.

“Finance Fund’s NMTC funding comes at an important point in our expansion,” said Thomas Winston, Toledo Port Authority CFO. “We are bringing jobs and greater economic development not only to Toledo, but to the entire Midwest area served by the international freight that flows through the Toledo Shipyard on Lake Erie.”



Replies:
Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Jul 13 2017 at 6:12am

Ohio New Markets Tax Credit Program Funded Projects

Project NameAddressCityCommunity Development Entity
Allen Theatre1501 Euclid AvenueClevelandNortheast Ohio Development Fund
Miceli's Dairy2721 E. 90th StreetClevelandNortheast Ohio Development Fund
Middough Building1901 E. 13th StreetClevelandNortheast Ohio Development Fund
St. Aloysius4721 Reading RoadCincinnatiFinance Fund
21c Hotel609 Walnut StreetCincinnatiCincinnati Development Fund
Courtyard by Marriott – University Circle2021 Cornell RoadClevelandFinance Fund
Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries4515-4516 Superior AvenueClevelandCleveland New Markets Investment Fund II
Mercer Commons14-32 Mercer StreetCincinnatiCincinnati Development Fund
Premier Health Center110 N. Main StreetDaytonDayton Region New Market Fund
SolarVision - CelinaState Route 29 and Meyer RoadCelinaFinance Fund
Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center215 South DePeyster StreetKentFinance Fund
Ronald McDonald House10415 Euclid AvenueClevelandFinance Fund
Muskingum Recreation Center1425 Newark RoadZanesvilleFinance Fund
Paycor Headquarters4811 Montgomery Rd.NorwoodStonehenge Community Development
Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging11900 Fairhill RoadClevelandNortheast Ohio Development Fund
Toledo Port Expansion2863 Front StreetToledoFinance Fund
Lorain County Health and Dentistry1205 Broadway Ave.LorainDevelopment Fund of the Western Reserve
Dunnhumby HeadquartersFifth and Race StreetsCincinnatiCincinnati New Markets Fund
Hilton Garden Inn – Akron1307 E. Market StreetAkronDevelopment Fund of the Western Reserve
Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley652 South Main StreetDaytonDayton Region New Market Fund
Children's CARE House410 Valley Street & 156 Grant StreetDaytonDayton Region New Market Fund
Central Ohio Youth for Christ40 North Chicago AvenueColumbusFinance Fund
Cristo Rey Columbus High School400 East Town StreetColumbusFinance Fund
Cintrifuse1311-1315 Vine StreetCincinnatiCincinnati Development Fund


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Jul 13 2017 at 8:31am
Wondering out loud if New Markets Tax Credits could be utilized to move forward the Sorg Opera House, Strand/Studio Theater or even the Manchester Inn/Snider Building redevelopment projects?  It's worth the time and effort to explore further.  Could this help be a job creation and economic development game-changer for Middletown?


Posted By: buddhalite
Date Posted: Jul 13 2017 at 9:15am
Here's the answer - yes, but no.  

Using your example provided about the theater in Clarksburg......here's why - directly from their website......

Funding Strategy
The total construction budget to completely renovate, restore, equip and furnish the Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center is $15 million. This excludes all pre-construction costs already invested by the City of Clarksburg. The comprehensive public-private funding model entails:

1) A 2016 Series A Bond to provide working capital

2) A Capital Campaign to raise private contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations

3) Historic State and Federal Tax Credits

4) Proceeds from the newly implemented City of Clarksburg 1 percent sales and use tax through the West Virginia Home Rule Pilot Program.

Near as I can tell from my research - the only NMTC issued in 2016 for anything in West Virginia was $2M and it was to some other organization....

I did some further research - because I think this project most closely resembles a project we might undertake here in Middletown - and here's my conclusions:

The people of Clarksburg were willing to pay additional sales taxes to fund these projects
The people of Middletown I don't think are so willing.

Clarksburg is a city of 17k in a region of 50k people
Middletown is a city of 50k in a region of 580k people

Clarksburg is isolated from larger metro areas.
Middletown is relatively adjacent to TWO metro areas.

Clarksburg's project is located in an area that is still vibrant - where people live, work and play.
Middletown's projects are located in an area that is depressed, declining and devalued.

Clarksburg's project is something the city needs - it has no other entertainment venue or movie theater save one outdoor only amphitheater.
Middletown has a movie theater and performing arts center - and is adjacent to more than I can count.

I could go on for days - but yes - these types of credits are available - but where will the rest of the money come from?  Furthermore - exactly which buildings would be renovated and reopened - and how many residents will ACTUALLY utilize the facilities?  Will there ever be a return on investment?  

Bob


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"Every government intervention [in the marketplace] creates unintended consequences, which lead to calls for further government interventions." -Ludwig van Mises


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Jul 13 2017 at 10:47am
Budd Bob -

You have far too much time on your hands.  Since you're no where near retirement age, where do you find the time to earn a living?

Despite your all too frequent blather, MUSA participants are still waiting for you to do something else other than making provocative and unsolicited comments about possible opportunities to improve Middletown.  You'd be well served to once again read comments by others regarding your behavior.

Because of your self-appointed fascination with critiquing others, what tangible solutions do you offer given your vast city planning, community development, real estate, mortgage finance, construction and other credentials?


Posted By: buddhalite
Date Posted: Jul 13 2017 at 1:34pm
Nelson,

I would think that you are the one with ample time on your hands....

All that I am saying is that you are a one-trick pony - who only knows one subject and that's how to use other peoples money for projects.

The issue with any project that we will encounter in this city is that we'll need way more than any government will be willing to fund.  So - in your infinite wisdom - tell me please, because I want to know where on earth you're gonna get the rest of the money from the private sector...

Oh yeah, that's right.  It's not there today - and the appetite for that won't change overnight or even over years, so the answer is there has to be something better.  I'm still writing my pseudo-platform, you'll enjoy reading it, but it is still premature.

Nelson, I'm trying to like you - but you did ask a question and I gave you answers.  It's amazing to me that I do my homework, I research and give you ACCURATE and DEPENDABLE answers - and every time you resort to denigrating my name, talents and ideas, and all I'm trying to do is foster an environment where solutions can be shared and refined and raised to the level of usefulness.

Instead of tearing me down - why don't you go after the merits of what I posted instead?  Oh yeah, that's right - I am right and you know it.  It's 2017 - and a government grant isn't the solution to all of our problems.

Bob


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"Every government intervention [in the marketplace] creates unintended consequences, which lead to calls for further government interventions." -Ludwig van Mises


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Jul 13 2017 at 1:50pm
CLEVELAND, OHIO -- SHOREWAY INDUSTRIAL PARK
New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) Redevelopment & Job Creation

Shoreway Industrial Park:

Located four miles from downtown Cleveland, Shoreway Industrial Park (SIP) turned a partially occupied truck manufacturing site into a logistics and distribution hub for the metro area. Shoreway is the lead project in an International Trade District (ITD), which will be supported by intermodal logistics and distribution facilities with outstanding truck/highway and rail access, less than a quarter mile from Interstate 90 and with its own railway spur leading to main freight rail lines.

The 27 acre industrial park has an additional 39 acres adjacent to the project WKDWKDYHEHHQLGHQWLÀHGIRUIXWXUH,7'GHYHORSPHQW

An NDC New Markets Tax Credit Project Cleveland, Ohio $20.4 Million

Project Combined with Financing from Fifth Third Bank $9 Million1'&4XDOLÀHG(TXLW\,QYHVWPHQW

Additional NMTC allocation was provided by Cleveland Development Advisors

The Retention and/or Creation of 46 Permanent Jobs The Creation of 13 Construction Jobs

© 2015 National Development Council www.ndconl


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Jul 13 2017 at 2:26pm
Bridgeport Historic Rehabilitation -- Bridgeport, CT
New Markets Tax Credits -- Mixed Use Downtown Redevelopment

The Bridgeport project involved the historic rehabilitation of the two buildings in the city’s downtown: the Arcade – one of only three remaining arcades in the United States – and 144 Golden Hill.  Connecticut’s largest city, Bridgeport, had become a symbol of significant poverty and disinvestment. The project was the second phase of a four-phase revitalization effort.

The CDE, LISC, offered a way to leverage available financing and close the gap with its $4.9 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation authority featuring a mix in equity and debt. This second phase produced 59 market-rate rental apartments, 46,932 square feet of retail space, and 6,167 square feet of office space. The project’s four phases were comprised of 500+ housing units and 200,000 square feet of commercial space within a four-block area near the Metro-North and Amtrak railroad station.

The project contained an environmentally friendly strategy for reclaiming the community’s existing physical assets and will include green technology as a design element. Due to the project’s location in an unproved market with high levels of economic distress, as well as the scale of investment required for the developer’s multiphase redevelopment, the project faced significant obstacles securing adequate financing. LISC’s equity feature product was used to capture federal Historic Tax Credits in addition to the NMTC.

The scale of the Bridgeport project made a large impact on the city’s physical and economic environment while generating momentum for other efforts. Additionally, with a new city government in place, with renewed public investment from the State and other entities, and with an experienced urban developer onboard, the project restored investor/developer confidence and affirmed that Bridgeport succeeded in major revitalization.


Posted By: buddhalite
Date Posted: Jul 13 2017 at 2:31pm
Again Nelson,

Great idea.  Wrong city.  

All the things that made that project work (.25 mi access to interstates, railway spurs, etc.) don't exist in the problem areas in Middletown.  Where is the application to an actual problem we have in Middletown?

With all the cheap real estate around here - if industry wanted any of it - they'd already have it.  But they don't.  There's lots of reasons for that - but for now I'm going to stick with the re-purposing of blighted real estate.

Getting all the government grants in the world doesn't solve the problem of old Middletown being what it is today.

Furthermore - what you posted (and yes, I must go earn a living now - so I can't do any homework) it shows that $30+M was spent to create 43 permanent jobs?  Oh wait - it says retention/creation - so it's actually LESS than 43 jobs.

I know - a job is a job - but if this city has to spend a million to create one single solitary job - we are in far more serious trouble than we know.

I don't like the math on that one.  Perhaps, Nelson, do you have a better example of how a single facility can be repurposed into a job creator?  Something like a distribution/fulfillment center or a call center or something like that?  Where we get more jobs for less money?  I'm not being facetious - I want to find some way to use the property we have to create jobs - the cornerstone to fixing what ails our town.

Bob


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"Every government intervention [in the marketplace] creates unintended consequences, which lead to calls for further government interventions." -Ludwig van Mises


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Jul 13 2017 at 2:54pm
BUDD BOB -

How sad that you continue FAILING TO COMPREHEND the underlying purpose and value of my providing New Markets Tax Credits, Federal Home Loan Bank - Cincinnati,and successful nationwide HUD Community Development Block Grant/Home Investment Partnerships Programs success stories.

Let me remind you one last time, there's value in researching "best practices" community betterment activities being implemented elsewhere.  To further explain to you, it's not my intent to dictate or advocate that any of these examples fit perfectly into the Middletown environment.  They are only to expand current thinking insofar as priorities, policies, plans and programs are concerned.

My last comment to you remains, what concrete, real-world, financially feasible solutions are you advocating for the betterment of Middletown.  Please tell us in detail. 






Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Jul 13 2017 at 2:56pm
buddhalite:

"Oh yeah, that's right. It's not there today - and the appetite for that won't change overnight or even over years, so the answer is there has to be something better. I'm still writing my pseudo-platform, you'll enjoy reading it, but it is still premature"

Bob, I strongly encourage you to entertain thoughts of running for council when the next election session is upon us. You will have my vote. I am serious when I propose this to you and have an ulterior motive for suggesting this course of action for you.......

If and when you do decide to run, I sincerely hope you win a seat on council. Why? Because it will give you an inside track as to how this city government works and you will see first hand what we have been talking about regarding various topics on this forum. It will provide you with an understanding as to how the money flows from fund to fund without traceability for the average citizen as the money weaves through the maze of complicated confusion to end up far from it's intended purpose.

Once in that council seat, I hope you have your eyes open to the concept of back room decisions made out of the public's view that should involve public scrutiny. Pick up on the constant "emergency legislation" to hurry things along even when it is not needed. Witness the special things done for "friends of the city" and be on hand to see the special attention all of council gives to the downtown area while the rest of the city is on it's own. Witness the special agendas for their special friends while they prioritize who gets the mine and who gets the shaft.

Experience the exclusionary practice that has been here for decades between the city government and the people of this city. They created the apathy here and they love it. It gives them a distinct advantage when dealing with the city residents. If you decide to play devil's advocate with the mainstream gameplan and decide to "go rogue" as Josh Laubach did at times as he questioned, in public, why city government was doing things the way they did, be prepared to incur the "Mulligan-inner circle wrath" that will follow. It has happened before and caused those who asked questions to give up trying to change the culture. It will take a majority on council to change the bobblehead/rubber stamping way of operation. One person won't be able to do it. And don't start out questioning things on behalf of the people and then change stripes and become the docile team player later on. That is what got Anita Scott-Jones a loss on her last council seat attempt.

Bob, I am not being sarcastic here. Given your optimistic, let's give 'em a chance to see what they will do approach you indicate on this forum, it will be interesting to see if and when you change your opinion of city leadership, or if you will give in to their wishes to survive your council term before they force you to resign.

I wish you the best if you decide to run for office. It won't be easy, especially if you decide they are the bad guys we say they are here. Expect retaliation if that happens.

Oh, and going for the communications job.....go for it. You communicate very well and still have an "untainted" attitude about Middletown and the leadership, unlike most of us. Perhaps the city needs a cheerleader to attempt to overcome the pathetic image the city leaders have created over the last four decades. It will be a tremendous challenge for anyone to turn the city image around. Kinda like curing cancer as to success. Give it a try.....that goes for the council position coming up as well.

Good luck





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I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.


Posted By: buddhalite
Date Posted: Jul 13 2017 at 3:07pm
Viet,

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement.  You never know what might happen.  Rest assured that I'm a big boy and have broad shoulders.

Bob


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"Every government intervention [in the marketplace] creates unintended consequences, which lead to calls for further government interventions." -Ludwig van Mises


Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Jul 13 2017 at 5:32pm
BUDD BOB -

The issue is the betterment of Middletown and not the focus upon you!


Posted By: swohio75
Date Posted: Jul 13 2017 at 8:25pm
I do believe the new downtown Middletown Master Plan recently adopted referenced the use of New Market Tax Credits as a development tool for revitalization. 


Posted By: buddhalite
Date Posted: Jul 14 2017 at 11:46am
Dear Narcissistic Nelson,

I don't even want the focus on me - I just want you to understand that you've made your point and continually harping about these tax credits isn't helping the city.  The city and its leaders would be ridiculous not to take advantage of any/all federal and state tax credits available on any given project.

However - I don't think it behooves anyone to jump prematurely into any given project just because there's money available via grants and credits.  The community has to support it and get behind it.

Bob


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"Every government intervention [in the marketplace] creates unintended consequences, which lead to calls for further government interventions." -Ludwig van Mises



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