District of Columbia Housing Enterprises Awarded $45 Million for Federal Community Investment

The District of Columbia Housing Enterprises, a subsidiary of the District of Columbia Housing Authority, was awarded $45 million in New Market Tax Credits by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It is the third time DCHE has received an award of this type from the U.S. Treasury Department. To date, DCHE has received more than $80 million in credits.

New Market Tax Credits, funded by the U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, encourage community development in low-income neighborhoods. This year’s allocation of $7 billion will be spread across the country to 120 organizations.

“The CDFI Fund programs, including the New Markets Tax Credit, address the needs and concerns of working Americans and help build an economy that delivers results that they can see,” said Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew. “By attracting private business and development to distressed communities, this tax credit spurs economic growth, creates jobs, and brings new services and opportunities where they are most needed.”

Lew made the announcement at Educare D.C., an innovative, state-of-the-art preschool offering early childhood educational programs in the Parkside Kenilworth community in Northeast D.C. Educare D.C. benefited from a more than $15 million NMTC investment provided by DCHE in 2009. The school, which educates 160 students beginning at six months old to pre-kindergarten, is 100 percent populated by families living at or beneath the poverty line.

“We utilize NMTC to support mission-driven projects that positively impact the surrounding neighborhood, particularly projects East of the River,” said DCHA Executive Director Adrianne Todman. “Very importantly, these investments also create jobs for our customers.”

Educare D.C. created 60 permanent jobs in addition to the construction positions and partnerships it has supported.

DCHE has distributed more than $80 million in NMTC, supporting some $450 million in community investments. Those tax credits created 1,100 construction jobs and 500 permanent jobs. In addition to Educare, DCHE’s NMTC for United Negro College Fund, Canal Park, and several schools.

“For the past 15 years, we have seen how the New Markets Tax Credit program improves the quality of life and economic prospects for low-income Americans,” said CDFI Fund Director Annie Donovan. “The historic $7 billion in tax credits awarded through the 2015-2016 round will support many more community projects and businesses nationwide.”

The federal awards bring the total amount awarded through the New Markets Tax Credit Program to $50.5 billion. Historically, NMTC awards have generated $8 of private investment for every dollar invested by the federal government. Since 2001, NMTCs have generated more than $42 billion in investments in low-income communities and businesses, resulting in the creation or retention of more than 500,000 jobs, and the construction or rehabilitation of more than 164 million square feet of commercial real estate.