Five organizations in the Milwaukee area will receive a combined $320 million in allocation authority through the federal new markets tax credits program.
Waveland Community Development will received $100 million, First-Ring Industrial Redevelopment Enterprise will receive $70 million, M&I New Markets Fund will receive $40 million and the Milwaukee Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) will receive $25 million.
Waveland will use its $100 million allocation to invest in business and real estate projects that demonstrate “a capacity for catalytic change” in economically-distressed communities. WCD works with and invests in women and minority-controlled businesses, as well as companies located in minor urban and more removed rural areas.
The Wisconsin Community Development Legacy Fund (WCDLF) will use its $85 million allocation to bring equity equivalent financial capital and low-cost senior debt currently not available in the low-income communities of the state. In Milwaukee, WCDLF will target investments that provide employment and entrepreneurship opportunities with a focus on the minority population.
“This award will be used to assist Legacy Bank in providing the much needed catalyst for investment in small businesses in underserved community and commercial real estate projects located in low and moderate income areas in the City of Milwaukee,” said Legacy Bank chairwoman and CEO Deloris Sims.
M&I New Markets Fund in Milwaukee will use its $40 million allocation to make loans and purchase loans from other Community Development Entities (CDEs) in low-income communities, and to support the development of office, industrial, retail, residential, mixed-use and community facilities.
First-Ring Industrial Redevelopment Enterprise (FIRE) is a collaborative entity designed to revitalize Southeastern Wisconsin’s abandoned industrial properties. FIRE will use its $70 million in capital to invest in office, mixed-use, community facility, retail and industrial developments designed to rehabilitate abandoned, contaminated and blighted industrial sites and promote sustainable development.
The Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) will use its $25 million allocation to increase the amount of low-interest loans to business and real estate developers for asset purchases, real estate development, and mixed-use developments in Milwaukee’s low-income communities.
“As a member of Congress, I fought to establish the New Markets Tax Credit as a tool to encourage investment in low-income communities that lack access to capital,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “The allocations to MEDC and other local community development financial institutions ensure that this tool is put to work to rebuild the economy of Milwaukee’s central city, creating jobs and opportunity.”
