CAHEC New Markets, a New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Community Development Entity, has allocated $40 million in NMTC financing to three community development projects in Florida, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The investments target early childhood education, family services, and rural healthcare—critical areas that often struggle to attract private capital in low-income communities. By leveraging the NMTC program, CAHEC New Markets aims to stimulate economic development and job creation in high-distress neighborhoods.
The first investment of $11 million supports Childcare Resources' new early learning campus and resource hub in Vero Beach, Florida. The campus will replace a leased facility and expand programming from infancy through second grade, including a 16-classroom lab school, therapy rooms, and a professional development incubator for educators. The expansion increases capacity by 36%, allowing the organization to serve 200 students annually, 85% of whom are low-income, with 20 seats reserved for children experiencing homelessness. The incubator will also serve 300 educators annually, 74% of whom are low-income. The project is expected to create 13 new jobs and retain 50 existing positions.
The second investment of $15 million was provided to Knoxville's Community Development Corporation (KCDC) to support the Transforming Western Heights plan, a 70-acre U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Choice Neighborhood development. The NMTC financing will support construction and renovation across a 35,195 square-foot campus, including expanding an existing Boys & Girls Club, upfitting clinic space for the University of Tennessee Medical Center's Primary Care Clinic, and building a new Connections Building that will house Real Good Kitchen and Junior Achievement of East Tennessee's Entrepreneurship Center, along with an adjacent public park and plaza. Once complete, the project is projected to serve more than 6,000 community members annually, 80% of whom are low-income, through youth programming, healthcare access, culinary job training, entrepreneurship support, and food security initiatives. It is expected to create 105 construction jobs and 40 permanent positions.
An additional $14 million investment supports FirstHealth of the Carolinas' construction of a new two-story, 40,956-square-foot critical access hospital in Troy, North Carolina. The facility will replace the Montgomery Memorial Hospital built in 1949 and deliver more efficient emergency services, rehabilitation, and comprehensive care to a rural, medically underserved community. Once complete, the hospital is projected to serve approximately 14,000 patients annually while creating 166 construction jobs and retaining 136 full-time positions.
These projects are driven by organizations deeply rooted in their communities, according to Brian Oxford, CAHEC's Director of Community Capital. "Through New Markets Tax Credit investments, we are able to help these organizations and the community members they serve realize their visions for strong, stable, and thriving communities that provide opportunities for years to come," Oxford said. "We are honored to provide New Markets Tax Credit financing to help these projects move from dream to reality."
The NMTC program is designed to stimulate economic and community development and job creation in low-income communities by attracting private-sector investment capital. CAHEC New Markets, LLC, an affiliate of CAHEC, uses NMTC allocations to finance high-impact community facility projects throughout the Southeast. To learn more, visit its website.
