NNMF Closes $20 Million In NMTC Financing For Nucleus Innovation Center

The University of Louisville Foundation has closed on $20 million in funding to help finance the first building in its downtown Nucleus Innovation Center life-sciences park.

The building, formally known as Nucleus Innovation Center — Market Street, represents the first of four planned phases for construction on the former Haymarket site in downtown Louisville. When all the phases are completed, the park is projected to have 676 permanent jobs at established and startup companies, many tied to University of Louisville research.

The Nucleus park is being developed by Nucleus: Kentucky’s Life Sciences and Innovation Center LLC, the economic development arm of the University of Louisville Foundation. The funding for the first phase of the project resulted from $20 million in tax-credit allocations from the federal New Markets Tax Credits program.

The U.S. Department of Treasury allocates New Markets Tax Credits to qualified community development institutions to help them entice investors to fund loans for projects in low-income or economically distressed areas.

National New Markets Fund (NNMF) and PNC Community Partners Inc., a PNC Financial Services affiliate that supports community development projects, are setting aside a portion of their New Markets Tax Credit allocations for the Nucleus project. In April, the Treasury allocated $75 million in tax credits to NNMF, which is setting aside $15 million of its allocations for the Nucleus project. PNC Community Partners was allocated $45 million by the Treasury and is setting aside $5 million for the U of L Foundation, which owns Nucleus.

NNMF president Deborah La Franchi said the organization was drawn to the Nucleus project primarily because of its goal to support the growth of early-stage companies. The Nucleus project is among 28 projects across the country where National New Markets Fund has helped solicit investments since 2006. The projects are located in distressed areas where the fund uses its New Markets Tax Credit allocations to leverage private investments to support projects.

To read more coverage in the Louisville Business Journal, click here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2013/09/06/nucleus-secures-20-million-in-new.html

https://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2013/09/12/pnc-invests-in-nucleus-project-with.html