Invest Atlanta’s New Markets Tax Credits entity, Atlanta Emerging Markets, inc. (AEMI), has closed a major transaction that will support the construction of a new Sheltering Arms early education center in the Peoplestown neighborhood.
AEMI is providing $6.3MM in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation to assist with the new development at D.H. Stanton Elementary School. Sheltering Arms provides early education services to families throughout the Atlanta area. They annually serve over 3,300 children, 93% of which are minorities.
The approximately 26,000-square-foot facility will include 14 classrooms and serve almost 300 children, from infants to 5 year-olds. The facility will house 86 pre-K and 213 child care students and provide child care, education, and comprehensive support services for families. The project will also create 54 jobs. Sheltering Arms will occupy the site as a tenant of Atlanta Public Schools, who will amend the lease to be compatible with NMTC financing.
More deals like this one are on the horizon, thanks to the recently announced U.S. Department of the Treasury allocation of $50 million in NMTC to AEMI. Invest Atlanta, through AEMI, will use the NMTC allocation to provide gap financing for projects like the Sheltering Arms facility that jumpstart economic development, create jobs, and revitalize neighborhoods in Atlanta.
“Invest Atlanta is proud to see the U.S. Department of the Treasury allocate another substantial New Markets Tax Credit award to AEMI, validating the strategic investments we are making,” said Dr. Eloisa Klementich, President and CEO, Invest Atlanta. “Since 2006, we have received nearly $200 million in New Markets Tax Credit awards to fund projects that are strengthening the economic vibrancy of our community. This latest award enables us to continue to play a key role in financing more catalytic development.”
Most recently, AEMI assisted Grady Memorial Hospital and Families First through the NMTC program. AEMI used a $12,000,000 NMTC transaction to help finance Grady’s $76,000,000 expansion and renovation of its new Emergency Department building. The recently dedicated Marcus Trauma and Emergency Center will serve 20,000 additional patients annually.
Social services provider Families First received an $8,500,000 NMTC investment to convert a former Atlanta Public Schools’ building on the Westside into their new 38,000 square-foot headquarters. Families First is now able to serve 52,000 children, women, and families a year, many of whom report income well below the poverty line.
In addition, Downtown Atlanta’s recently redeveloped Flatiron Building received an $11,200,000 New Markets Tax Credit investment to renovate the previously vacant 119-year-old historic landmark into an entrepreneurship hub and innovation center.