Atlanta Emerging Markets, Inc. closed on a $9MM NMTC transaction to support the Atlanta Youth Academy campus redevelopment and expansion project in Thomasville Heights.
When the Atlanta Youth Academy was founded in 1997 it had only one teacher and nine students. Today, the school serves 150 students (Pre-K through 8th grade) and most students are from low-income, single-parent households with median annual incomes of under $24,000.
Only 64% of students from this income bracket graduate high school nationally, however 100% of AYA students graduate 8th grade and enroll in high school, 100% of AYA alumni graduate high school, and 93% matriculate to a 4-year college and 6% matriculate to a 2-year college.
The NMTC funding will allow Atlanta Youth Academy to increase their capacity to 225 students and replace their outdated facilities with a new campus that includes dedicated spaces for STEM and arts education. In addition, they are redeveloping a blighted six-acre brownfield site that previously housed crime and drug-ridden industrial buildings.
Education is a key component to breaking the cycle of poverty and building wealth, and project will allow 75 additional students to receive a quality education and help stabilize blighted property in Atlanta’s southside.
AEMI partnered with SunTrust on the transaction.