Cincinnati development agencies secure $75M in New Markets Tax Credits

Two prominent Cincinnati development agencies have just landed $75 million in New Markets Tax Credits from the U.S. Treasury Department that will go a long way in helping complete development projects in Cincinnati’s Uptown neighborhoods and elsewhere throughout the city. Cincinnati Development Fund was awarded $30 million and intends to use the funds on projects they are working on in Downtown, Over-the-Rhine and Uptown.  The Uptown Consortium received a $45 million allocation which will go a long way towards making the redevelopment efforts along Short Vine reality. Cincinnati Development Fund (CDF) leaders say that the New Markets program enables agencies like CDF to finance projects by selling the tax credits to investors and using the proceeds as equity in the particular project. Each year the Treasury Department receives huge amounts of requests through the New Markets application process.  This year alone the Treasury Department received more than four times the amount of requests than it had money to allocate.  This limited availability of funds makes the local announcement of $75 million in New Markets Tax Credits even more impressive. Combined the Uptown Consortium and CDF applied for $140 million in tax credits and received more than half of their total request.  In 2005 the Business Courier reports that the two agencies took in $52 million in tax credits. Writer: Randy A. Simes Photography by Scott Beseler Stay connected by following Randy on Twitter @SoapboxRandy