This video from NovogradacCPAs describes the incentive the tax credit provides for companies to invest in low-income communities; also, it shows the basic new markets tax credit structure and definition. [Read more…]

Arkansas Baptist College announced Thursday that it will invest $18 million to expand its Little Rock campus by adding a new residence hall and general education building and purchasing nearby real estate for future growth. The college said First Security Bank of Little Rock, supported by federal tax credits, is providing financing for the expansion. “This is a significant expansion that will allow us to continue growing our enrollment, and creating new educational and economic opportunities for those who need it the most, but often have the most difficult time gaining access to it,” Dr. Fitz Hill, president of Arkansas Baptist College, said in a news release. [Read more…]

Arkansas Baptist College announced plans today for an $18 million expansion of its campus just south of downtown Little Rock. The college plans to build a new education building, expand the cafeteria from 77 seats to 322, build a new 190-bed residence hall, buy land around the campus to prepare for future growth and build a community union that will include a coffee shop, a lounge-study area, a food court, a conference room, office space and student apartments. [Read more…]

Not long ago, the enrollment level at Arkansas Baptist College was around 300 students. The college facilities were neither updated nor plentiful, and there was not enough housing available for the students on campus. Because of the situation wit the facilities, students were being housed in motels and shuttled back and forth to campus. Some classes were even being housed in motels and shuttled back and forth to campus. Some classes were even being held at a local middle school. US Bank, First Security Bank, and Heartland Renaissance Fund (HRF) came together and utilized the New Market Tax Credit program to provide $20.1 million dollars to renovate Old Main, construct new dorms, build new classrooms, and purchase abandoned houses in the surrounding area. This project re-created the college experience for Arkansas Baptist’s students, and the college was able to reduce costs they had been incurring from housing students off-site. Currently, the enrollment level at the college is near 1,200 students which is an increase of 900 students.

On Wednesday (March 10), the Senate passed the “American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010.” Besides providing $1.5 billion in disaster funds for agriculture, the bill would reinstate vital tax credits for the biodiesel industry that expired last December. The bill must still be reconciled with similar House legislation. “This past week we’ve had a lot of discussions with people from other regions of the country asking why the South needs a disaster program on top of the ones we have under permanent legislation,” said Richard Bell, Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture, during a conference call set up by Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln. “The answer is rather simple: because we’re different. The legislation that’s just passed will fill the gaps in the 2008 farm bill and will be a big plus for us.”  [Read more…]

Heartland Renaissance Fund was notified on May 27, 2009 that it had been awarded a $55 million allocation of New Market Tax Credits for use within Arkansas from the New Markets Tax Credits Recovery Act Allocation. [Read more…]

The New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) program has been used to facilitate financing for a wide range of projects within eligible census tracts. The Department of Treasury released its November Report showing the programs investment results. Here are sample projects that recently secured financing supported by the New Market Tax Credit Program: [Read more…]

An overview of New Market Tax Credits and how they benefit communities in Arkansas. [Read more…]

Speaking today alongside U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln and U.S Senator Mark Pryor, the Director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund), Donna J. Gambrell, announced an award of $70 million in tax credit allocation authority that will spur private-sector investment in the economically distressed communities of Arkansas. Heartland Renaissance Fund (HRF) a subsidiary of Arkansas Capital Corporation, was awarded the $70 million in tax credits under the 2009 round of the New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) Program. The national award announcement for the full $5 billion in NMTCs available under the 2009 round will be made late next week. [Read more…]

The U.S. Treasury announced today that Arkansas-based Heartland Renaissance Fund  will receive $70 million in Federal New Market Tax Credits, which will be used to stimulate investment in healthcare, education and economic development projects in Arkansas. Donna Gambrell, director of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund)  and Sen. Blanche Lincoln made the announcement today at the offices of the Heartland Renaissance Fund in Little Rock. Heartland is a member of the Arkansas Capital Corporation Group and is designated a Community Development Entity by the CDFI Fund. The U.S. Department of the Treasury will announce New Market Tax Credit awards for the rest of the United States next week. [Read more…]