RESTART Update: New Markets Tax Credits

Working in partnership with the City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce, the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, and Philadelphia Works, we have jointly identified four phases of work to drive an equitable economic recovery in Philadelphia:
1. RESPOND

2. RESTART

3. RECHARGE

4. REIMAGINE

In July, we announced our full recovery plan, detailing each phase in the blog, Racism, Equality, & Restarting our Economy.
The second phase, PIDC’s RESTART Action Plan, focuses on how we are adapting the following three core strategies to meet Philadelphia’s needs to drive an equitable economic recovery and “reopen with care” at this critical time:
Support Growth & Resilience of Businesses

Invest in High-impact Community Revitalization

Catalyze Opportunities for Inclusive Growth

Throughout the year, we are keeping you updated on progress toward our RESTART Action Plan by highlighting various examples of what we have done, so far, to support our strategies. In case you missed it, in August, we shared an update on how we are catalyzing opportunities for inclusive growth with the announcement that PIDC selected a team comprised of Ensemble Real Estate Investments and Mosaic Development Partners as its development partners for 109 acres of the Navy Yard. In September, we announced new developments around PIDC events, funding, and collaborations with partners to support growth & resilience of businesses. We shared updates around logistics and distribution in November. Below are a few more actions we’ve taken to support our RESTART Action Plan.

PIDC Identifies, underwrites, and approves key neighborhood development and business growth projects in the active pipeline, representing substantial investment in neighborhoods that will generate hundreds of jobs. One key way that PIDC makes key neighborhood development projects happen is through New Markets Tax Credits. New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) is a federal tax credit program designed to generate private-sector capital investment in low-income areas for projects that develop communities, stimulate economic growth, and create jobs.
Here are some of the transformational projects PIDC has invested in this year with NMTC.
SHARSWOOD RIDGE
In October, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for Sharswood Ridge. Located at 2077 Ridge Avenue in the North Philadelphia neighborhood of Sharswood/Blumberg, the project is a 234,000-square-foot mixed-use development consisting of 45,000 square feet of retail space which will include Grocery Outlet, Everest Urgent Care, Santander Bank, and Wingstop, to name a few, and 98 mixed-income residential units.
Sharswood Ridge will assist the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) in its ongoing Sharswood/Blumberg Choice Neighborhood Initiative, a comprehensive neighborhood transformation plan designed to elevate the quality of life for local residents through improved housing, local job creation, neighborhood-serving retail, commercial services, and public green space.
The project developer, Sharswood Partners, LLC, is a partnership between PIDC clients Mosaic Development Partners and SHIFT Capital, two Philadelphia-based community-focused developers committed to delivering social impact in underinvested urban neighborhoods. They won the rights to develop the project through an RFP (Request for Proposal) sponsored by PHA. As a model example of creative public-private partnerships, the project received a mix of federal, state, local and private funding that included New Market Tax Credits provided by PIDC and Commonwealth Cornerstone Group that were purchased by Capital One Bank, a PA Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant, a PA Multimodal Transportation Fund grant, Opportunity Zone Fund capital, as well as PIDC, PHA and Fulton Bank loans.
Watch the Groundbreaking Ceremony
COBBS CREEK COMMONS
PIDC helped fund the acquisition and renovation of a multi-tenant 37,848 SF commercial building at 100 N 63rd Street in West Philadelphia. The funding enabled the owner of American Power Electrical Supply, a full service, full-line MBE electrical supply wholesale and retail company, to purchase the space the company had been renting and to complete needed capital improvements. Two other small tenants – a community church and Team Clean, an MBE/WBE commercial janitorial services company – will also occupy the building with additional spaces available to lease.
The project received funding from PIDC’s Impact Development Fund, which is an innovative loan program capitalized with New Markets Tax Credits. The Impact Development Fund supports commercial, industrial, and mixed-use development on commercial corridors in Philadelphia’s low-income neighborhoods. With low-cost, flexible loans, the Impact Development Fund provides new capital for neighborhood-based development, driving revitalization in communities that can often be overlooked by traditional lenders and often need that investment most. PIDC also provided an additional loan facility – a Commercial Mortgage Loan – to complete the financing.
The funding of this project closes out PIDC’s 2nd Impact Development Fund totaling $5 million. A total of $11 million over our two Impact Development Funds has been invested in eight projects across Philadelphia. PIDC is launching its 3rd Impact Development Fund in 2021. Contact Sarah Stroney at sstroney@pidcphila.com or Lawrence McComie at lmccomie@pidcphila.com for more information about financing.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Every four years, the NMTC Coalition publishes a case study report with NMTC success stories from all fifty states. Read the latest report which features PIDC client, The Clay Studio.
READ THE FULL ACTION PLAN

Check out our RESTART Action Plan for more details on how we will continue to respond to the needs of our community. We welcome new ideas and opportunities for partnership.
The Navy Yard Selects Dominion Energy for the Electric Utility Operations & Maintenance Contract
/in NEWS, Restart Action Plan /by PIDCphilaRESTART Update: Supporting Small Businesses
/in NEWS, Restart Action Plan /by PIDCphilaRESTART Update: New Markets Tax Credits
/in NEWS, Restart Action Plan /by PIDCphilaRESTART Update: Logistics & Distribution
/in Logistics & Distribution, NEWS, Restart Action Plan /by PIDCphilaPIDC’s RESTART Action Plan Update: Funding, Events, and Collaborations
/in NEWS, Restart Action Plan /by PIDCphilaPIDC’s RESTART Action Plan Update: The Navy Yard
/in Restart Action Plan /by PIDCphilaRacism, Equality, & Restarting our Economy
/in Equality, NEWS, Restart Action Plan /by PIDCphila