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TRF Financing Brings New Extended-Stay Hotel to West Philadelphia
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Late last fall, a new Homewood Suites project broke ground in West Philadelphia, thanks to financing from TRF. TRF provided energy and New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing to construct the new hotel, which is expected to create 589 construction jobs and 34 permanent hospitality jobs. Part of the Hilton’s Homewood Suites brand, the 10-story hotel will cater towards extended-stay guests such the families of patients at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia or visitors to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. TRF’s $1.6 million energy loan was funded by the Pennsylvania Green Energy Loan Fund and EnergyWorks (a partnership among the Philadelphia area counties). Homewood Suites qualified for TRF's below-market interest rate energy loan because the building is designed and will be built to use 25% less energy than permitted under the current building energy code. Both TRF and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) also contributed NMTCs to the $45.1 million project.
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TRF and Chase Partnership Close First Charter School Loan
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Golden Door Charter School in Jersey City, New Jersey, is the first to benefit from JPMorgan Chase and TRF’s $50 million New Markets Tax Credit Charter School Fund, designated to support the growth of promising charter schools. The financing allows Golden Door to move into a larger facility with its own gymnasium and to renovate the building to include art, computers and music rooms. One of the first charter schools in New Jersey, Golden Door serves approximately 500 students in grades K-8. The school models itself after classical liberal arts programs, emphasizing foreign language, art and music, in addition to offering health and technology classes. Golden Door achieved annual yearly progress across all subject areas in 2009 and continues to produce positive test score trends. The Chase fund allows TRF to offer charter schools a structured loan product, with a senior leverage loan and NMTC equity provided by JPMorgan Chase. Subordinated leverage is provided by TRF, with the whole project supported by U.S. Department of Education credit enhancement. As of December 31, 2010, TRF has provided a total of $194.5 million in financing to 66 schools, serving 31,000 students
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City Arts Apartments Welcomes New Residents
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Along with Homes for America and Jubilee Baltimore, TRF Development Partners completed construction in November on 69 new, beautiful energy-efficient apartments known as City Arts. Located in Baltimore’s Station North Arts and Entertainment District, the apartment building began welcoming new residents in late November. It was completely leased and occupied within two months of opening. Of the total units, 11 are occupied by the non-elderly disabled on Baltimore’s Public Housing Waiting List. The development is designed to create quality, affordable housing for low- to moderate-income local artists. City Arts was funded with $2.6 million from the Tax Credit Assistance Program and $10.8 million from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, Bank of America and Enterprise Community Investment. The project has created or retained 168 jobs and boasts 1,000 square feet of performance space for the artists. In addition to the new apartments, TRFDP plans to break ground on 8 new townhouses on the City Arts campus this spring.
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PolicyMap Widget Powers Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's New Service |
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The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia recently launched its new online "Map Your Community" tool, which features a widget developed by PolicyMap. An embedded version of PolicyMap’s online mapping system allows visitors to the Fed’s website to create custom maps of their area. After defining a location, users can view layers of socioeconomic data, including poverty levels, census tract income levels, post office vacancies and educational attainment across various years. The data provides users with a more sophisticated view of trends and conditions in areas where they conduct community development activities. PolicyMap also recently launched the first phase of a data loader, allowing users to upload point level data either by clicking on the map or entering an address. Users can build a custom dataset, geocode, save and share it with the public or with others. Within the next few months, PolicyMap will expand the capabilities of the data loader; users will be able to load entire spreadsheets of address level data as well as thematic datasets.
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Expanding Food Access Beyond Supermarkets
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TRF’s successful supermarket financing program and innovative food access research has led the William Penn Foundation to partner with TRF to research and develop a diversified sustainable agriculture and local food system initiative. TRF will conduct this research over a two-year period, initially focusing on limits to growth and opportunities in the local food supply chain. As part of this effort, TRF will also provide technical assistance and financing to small and middle market local food businesses. In mapping local food systems, TRF plans to identify public policy alternatives at the state and national levels which could enhance the development of the local food market.
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TRF's Jeremy Nowak Reappointed to Philadelphia Federal Reserve Board
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TRF's CEO Jeremy Nowak was reappointed to serve a new three-year term on the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and as the Board’s Deputy Chairman. The nine-member Board of Directors is chosen in a nonpolitical process, generally with three Directors selected each year. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Board of Directors represents the Third District, which includes eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. The Board oversees operations, offers perspective on economic conditions and monetary policy and serves as a link between the Third District and the Federal Reserve.
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TRF in the News
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TRF's CEO joined Obama administration advisor, Edward DeSeve, to speak at a regional jobs summit in Philadelphia in late January. Sponsored by State Representatives Dwight Evans and John Myers, the event drew a variety of participants, including Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia and City Council members. Click here to view Mr. Nowak's presentation.
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TRF's Jeremy Nowak was honored to attend the 2011 State of the Union as a special guest of U.S. Representative Allyson Schwartz.
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The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia published an article by TRF's Sara Vernon Sterman on how management teams are key to a charter school's success. Read the full article in Cascade's winter issue.
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Governor Paterson announced the first grant recipient for the New York Healthy Food & Healthy Communities Fund. TRF is partnering with the Low Income Investment Fund and The Food Trust on this effort. Read more.
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Government Technology article highlights new features and benefits of PolicyMap for government agencies. Read the complete article.
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Bipartisan coalitions in the House and Senate introduced “Healthy Food Financing” bills in late November. The bills are designed to create jobs and increase access to healthy foods. Read more.
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