May 11, 2023
National New Markets Fund Provides $18M in NMTC Financing for South Carolina-based Company; 95 New Jobs Coming to Food Processing Plant
Spartanburg, SC – May 11, 2023 – Los Angeles-based National New Markets Fund, LLC has closed $18 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation to expand the Highland Baking Company plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The NMTC program incentivizes community development and economic growth through the use of tax credits that attract private investment to distressed communities.
The new $36.4 million production line will create an estimated 95 new full-time jobs. Financing will be used to build a third production line at the Spartanburg, SC plant. Highland Banking Company currently has 183 employees. The project received $32.5 million in New Market Tax Credits, or $31.8 million in Qualified Low-Income Community Investments (QLICIs), which Highland Baking Company will use for the purchase and installation of new equipment for the facility’s expansion. Highland Baking provided an additional $4.5 million contribution to complete project financing.
“The $32.5 million tax credit investment will enable Highland Baking Company to expand our production facility and bring high-quality jobs to South Carolina,” said Stuart Rosen CEO, Highland Baking Company. “NMTCs were key to helping us close the financing gap to help make the expansion of our operation a reality.”
Highland Baking Company bakes, fresh freezes and ships bread products such as hamburger buns, pan breads, subs, table breads and dinner rolls. The new production line will allow for the production of a line of lower cost breads, expanding the Company’s offerings from current mid-tier breads.
“This investment will bring much-needed revitalization to this South Carolina community,” said Deborah La Franchi, President, National New Markets Fund. “This new production line at Highland Baking Company will create quality jobs that will bolster the local economy. NNMF is driven to make meaningful impact investments that can help transform communities. We look forward to the day we get to sample bread from the new line of baked goods.”
The project qualified for the federal NMTC program because it is located in a Severely Distressed census tract. The local poverty rate is 47 percent (over four times the current national average) while the unemployment rate is 17.4 percent (twice the national average).
In addition to National New Markets Fund’s $18 million in NMTCs, three other community development entities provided NMTCs to Highland Baking Company: $7 million from Urban Action Community Development, $5.5 million from New Markets Support Company, and $2 million from Chase. Chase served as the tax credit investor, providing $9.5 million in tax credit equity.
“It has been a pleasure to work with our long-time partner, Highland Baking Company to support the expansion of its Spartanburg facility through our New Markets Tax Credit equity investment,” said Olivia Pipitone, Executive Director of Community Development Banking for Chase. “At Chase, we remain committed to supporting continued investment and economic development in projects like this that create skilled, well-paying jobs that stimulate the local economy and benefit the entire community.”
About the U.S. Treasury Department’s New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program
New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) were established by Congress in 2000 to stimulate investment and economic growth in designated low-income communities. They raise investor capital and leverage public and private funding to provide borrowers with financing in the form of favorable rates and flexible below-market terms. The NMTC Program is administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund).
About Highland Baking Company
Founded in 1984, Highland Baking Company is a food service customized baking company that focuses on chain and national accounts in both the food service and retail sectors. Privately owned and operated by the Rosen family, Highland Baking is located in Northbrook, Illinois and ships frozen bakery products nationally.
About National New Markets Fund
National New Markets Fund, LLC invests in projects that foster job creation and overall economic/social development in targeted low-income communities nationwide, including those hit especially hard by the loss of manufacturing jobs, natural disasters and other macroeconomic factors. To date, it has received $702 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation from the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI (Community Development Financial Institutions) Fund. It was launched in 2005 as a partnership between Los Angeles-based Strategic Development Solutions (SDS) and Boston-based Economic Innovation International Inc.
More information about National New Markets Fund is available at here and information about its sister American South Real Estate Fund is available at www.asref.com.
About Urban Action Community Development
UACD is a Baltimore-based, national Community Development Entity (CDE), dedicated to neighborhood transformation. Since 2003, UACD has been awarded $288 million in federal New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) and has deployed those proceeds into distressed, low-income communities helping to create over 70 new businesses, 185 new housing units, 6,247 permanent jobs and 6,962 construction jobs.
About New Markets Support Company
New Markets Support Company (NMSC) is a Chicago-based impact fund services company, offering both fund management and fund administration services. NMSC is focused on financing solutions to expand economic opportunity and empower underserved communities across the country as part of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC).
https://www.lisc.org/new-markets-support-company/
About JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $3.7 trillion in assets and $292 billion in stockholders’ equity as of December 31, 2022. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
https://www.jpmorganchase.com/
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