Detroit, MI – Los Angeles-based National New Markets Fund, LLC continues to invest in Michigan with a $17 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation to develop a new 490,000 square-foot Flex-N-Gate auto parts plant in Detroit.
When complete, the plant will create up to 700 permanent jobs focused on manufacturing and assembling car parts for original equipment manufacturers. This influx of new jobs is much needed in Detroit’s ‘East Side’ neighborhood, which is designated a distressed census tract with a poverty rate of 51.9 percent and an unemployment rate nearly two-and-a-half times the national average. Most of the new jobs will be filled by local hires who will receive paid job training to acquire needed skills.
With $17 million in NMTC funding, National New Markets Fund is the lead investor on the $33 million project.
Funding partners also include NDC New Markets Investments ($8.1 million), Stonehenge Community Development ($8 million), Dudley Ventures Community Investments ($7 million), and Wells Fargo Community Development Enterprises ($1 million) — a subsidiary of Wells Fargo that serves as tax credit investor. The project is supported by the City of Detroit, Mayor Mike Duggan, Wayne County, the state of Michigan, Ford Motor Company, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and Focus: HOPE.
“Michigan has a long list of worthy projects that need NMTC funding,” said National New Markets Fund Co-Founder and President Deborah La Franchi. “The new Flex-N-Gate facility is one such project with the potential to revitalize not just the I-94 Industrial Park, but the City of Detroit. We look forward to continuing to grow our portfolio in Michigan by investing in other projects with the power to transform distressed communities.”
National New Markets Fund Co-Founder Belden Hull Daniels added, “For this new facility, Flex-N-Gate will partner with local nonprofit Focus: HOPE to train and employ local workers for high-quality jobs. New Markets Tax Credits are the funding vehicle that will make all of this possible.”
The new Flex-N-Gate plant is the fifth major NMTC investment in Michigan for National New Markets Fund. It follows a $20 million NMTC allocation made in 2014 to fund equipment for new manufacturing lines by automotive components firm Detroit Manufacturing Systems (DMS) which is creating 300 automotive manufacturing jobs, The Taubman Center which is a LEED-certified mixed-use educational facility, and Gateway Marketplace a major retail center housing the first major grocery built in Detroit in 50 years.
In addition, National New Markets Fund parent company Strategic Development Solutions (SDS) has partnered with Cinnaire in the management of the $60 million Develop Michigan Real Estate Fund (which has invested invest in another 20 projects across the state. These include the Metropolitan Hotel, The Trumbull and Porter hotel, the Woolworth building which will be a mixed-use high rise with residential and retail, the Core City Neighborhood project, Capitol Park Lofts and the International Center Building.
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, such as Flex-N-Gate, with financing in the form of favorable rates and flexible below-market terms.
About Strategic Development Solutions
Founded in 2001, Los Angeles-based Strategic Development Solutions (SDS) is a market leader in the creation of New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) funds, as well as Double and Triple Bottom Line private equity and real estate funds. SDS continues to grow its family-of-funds, which are currently capitalized at $537 million. They include the $477 million National New Markets Fund, as well as other mission-focused investment funds that do ‘good’ and do ‘well’ by providing superior market rates of return, positive social impacts and environmental sustainability. More information is available at www.sdsgroup.com.
About National New Markets Fund
Deborah La Franchi of Strategic Development Solutions (SDS) and Belden Hull Daniels of Economic Innovation International, Inc. co-founded the National New Markets Fund to invest federal New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) in development projects that serve low income communities across the U.S. As a mission-driven investment fund, it seeks investments that create substantial economic and community development impacts. To date, it has been granted $477 million in NMTC allocation from the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI (Community Development Financial Institutions) Fund and has invested in 33 major projects nationwide. For more information, visit https://www.sdsgroup.com/funds/national-new-markets-fund.
About Flex-N-Gate
In 1956 Flex-N-Gate began producing aftermarket parts and quickly moved into original equipment manufacturing. By 1968, the company was producing the highest quality products and systems available to the automotive industry. Intra-company divisions include extensive plastics and metals R&D, lighting products, and complex mechanical assemblies. Now a global platform, FNG has 62 integrated manufacturing facilities in the US, Brazil, China, Argentina, Spain, France, Germany, Mexico, and Canada. For more information, visit http://www.flex-n-gate.com/.
