$70M in Tax Credits to Support Low-Income Areas

The Harrison has been supported by tax credits from the program in the past.

Two organizations in Indiana have been awarded a total of $70 million in tax credits designed to boost investment and growth in low-income urban and rural communities. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has named Fort Wayne New Markets Revitalization Fund LLC a $55 million recipient and French Lick Redevelopment CDE LLC in Paoli a $15 million recipient of credit authority through the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. FWNMRF Director Sharon Feasel says the credits will be used to attract private investment in parts of the city and region that may not otherwise receive it.

Feasel tells Inside INdiana Business, the credits could support a "long pipeline" of potential projects in Fort Wayne and beyond. "All would be valuable to the community. There’s a pretty good mix of different projects. We haven’t really started to commit anything yet. We’re still trying to decide the strategy for deployment of these tax credits," she said.

The footprint of potential projects mirrors that of the Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority, which was created as a result of the statewide Regional Cities Initiative. Feasel says projects totaling $6 million inside and outside of Allen County will be the most likely targets of support. "One of the challenges is — because of the complexity of the structuring: selling the tax credits, the investors, the leveraging of that equity investment — it gets kind of complicated and there’s diminishing returns to smaller projects," she said.

Prior to this year, 29 entities throughout the state have been awarded tax allocations from the federal program ranging from $6,000 to $55 million. French Lick Redevelopment CDE was awarded $45 million in 2016 and $50 million in 2009. FWNMRF received $33 million in 2014 and $15 million in 2008. Feasel says previous projects in Fort Wayne helped by the tax credits include The Harrison, market-rate apartments next to Parkview Field downtown, and the Turnstone Plassman Athletic Center, where athletes with physical disabilities train.

You can connect to the full list of 2018 recipients by clicking here.