Pittsburgh Urban Initiatives Awarded Record-High $60 Million in New Markets Tax Credits to Drive Community Development
The U.S. Department of Treasury has awarded Pittsburgh Urban Initiatives (PUI), a Community Development Entity affiliated with the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA), $60 million in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC), marking a record-high investment for the City of Pittsburgh.
The NMTC Program helps economically distressed communities attract private investment capital. Communities benefit from the jobs associated with these investments, as well as greater access to public facilities, goods, and services. Investments support manufacturing, retail, housing, health, technology, energy, education, childcare, and food industries.
PUI applies for and facilitates NMTC investments for projects throughout Pittsburgh and is one of only 142 entities in the nation to receive this competitive funding.
Since February 2011, PUI has received $298 million in NMTC allocations across eight allocations. These tax credits have helped finance transformative developments, including a new workforce training facility at the Community College of Allegheny County, the stabilization and build out of the historic New Granada Theater, and the renovation of the historic Allegheny YMCA.
“This is the eighth award Pittsburgh has received,” said URA Executive Director and PUI Governing Board member Susheela Nemani-Stanger. “I applaud PUI President Rebecca Davidson-Wagner and our consultant team, Affirmative Investments, for their strong track record of successfully attracting private capital to support and benefit communities across our city.”
PUI’s previous investments have created more than 3,900 permanent jobs, 3,532 construction jobs and 451 residential units throughout the City of Pittsburgh. Nearly $750 million has been invested into PUI projects.
“The NMTC Program has attracted significant private capital to community-based projects across our city, bringing more jobs, housing, and opportunity. This award, along with those received by our community development partners nationwide, will drive additional investment for the communities that need it most,” said PUI President Rebecca Davidson-Wagner. “PUI is grateful to the Treasury Department and the CDFI Fund for recognizing the continued need for this investment in the City of Pittsburgh.”
“When Pittsburgh neighborhoods see growth fueled by public-private partnerships, the entire region benefits,” said Ty Gourley, executive vice president of Henry L. Hillman Foundation and a PUI board member. “Nearly every new community-led capital project is faced with a challenging funding landscape, and doubly so in neighborhoods that have been left behind economically. The New Markets Tax Credit allocation secured by PUI helps ease that challenge. The NMTC program also attracts partners willing to invest in worthwhile Pittsburgh projects that strengthen the city and its role as an economic engine of southwestern Pennsylvania.”
PUI is dedicated to strategic investments in office, retail, mixed-use, and community facility developments in low-income communities that benefit residents throughout the City of Pittsburgh. For more information about PUI and the NMTC program, please contact PUI President Rebecca Davidson-Wagner at rwagner@ura.org.
