HEARTLAND RENAISSANCE FUND DEPLOYS $12.5 MILLION IN NEW MARKETS TAX CREDITS TO BUILD KROGER DISTRIBUTION CENTER IN KENTUCKY

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Investment unlocks a $400 million project that will create 430 permanent quality jobs and 350 construction jobs in a deeply distressed non-metro community

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (October 23, 2026) – Heartland Renaissance Fund (HRF), an affiliate of ACC Capital, is pleased to announce the deployment of $12.5 million of New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) to support the construction of a 950,000 square-foot distribution center for Kroger grocery stores in non-metro Franklin, Kentucky.

Heartland Renaissance Fund partnered with Empowerment Reinvestment Fund (ERF) of New York, which provided an additional $10 million in financing, bringing the total NMTC investment to $22.5 million for the $400 million distribution center.

Heartland’s investment is expected to bring 430 permanent new jobs and 350 temporary construction jobs, most of which will be available to low-income workers. Every permanent position is a quality job, paying above the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Living Wage level for the area, and offering substantial benefits.  The investment is located within a deeply distressed census tract that suffers from an unemployment rate 2.87 times the national average.

“This is our first New Markets investment in Kentucky, and we’re proud to have had a part in it,” says Leslie Lane, Heartland Renaissance Fund’s president. “We’ve been looking for the right project, and this sort of project is exactly what the allocation is for. We’d like to do more in the commonwealth and hopefully ACC Capital can utilize our other financing tools like SBA 7a lending and EB5 within the commonwealth.”

Kroger is the largest traditional grocer in the United States with over 2,700 stores in 35 states. The new distribution center will support more than 100 of Kroger’s retail grocery store locations. The NMTC Program, administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, encourages private investment in low-income communities by providing investors a federal tax credit in exchange for equity investments in community development entities.

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About Heartland Renaissance Fund

Founded in 2003, Heartland Renaissance Fund is an affiliate of ACC capital and is a certified Community Development Entity focused on revitalizing underserved communities across the American heartland. The organization has deployed over $425 million in NMTC and other community development financing, supporting projects that have created more than 5,000 jobs and leveraged $1 billion in total community investment. Heartland Renaissance Fund specializes in manufacturing and small business development in rural and small metropolitan areas across Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

About Empowerment Reinvestment Fund, LLC.

Empowerment Reinvestment Fund, LLC. (ERF), a subsidiary of TruFund Financial Services, is a certified Community Development Entity that leverages the New Markets Tax Credit Program to provide flexible financing for projects that create jobs, expand access to essential services and strengthen low-income communities throughout the United States.

About Kroger
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit™. We are, across our family of companies more than 400,000 associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through an eCommerce experience and retail food stores under a variety of banner names, serving America through food inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Isabella Barnello

Marketing Coordinator

ibarnello@acccapital.com

501-374-9247

New Markets Tax Credit Lenders Invest $46.25 Million in Non-Metro Mexico, Missouri

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Food Manufacturing Project to Expand and Renovate Existing Facility for Rural Community

MEXICO, Mo. (June 30, 2026) – Western Smokehouse Partners (WSP), a food manufacturer specializing in the private label production and co-manufacturing of jerky and meat snacks, has secured $46.25 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing from three lenders to support its expansion project in Mexico, Missouri. The lenders include Rural Development Partners ($20 million), Heartland Renaissance Fund ($13.25 million), and Mid-City Community ($13 million).

The NMTC funding will be used to assist in an expansion that will see 300,000 square feet of renovation done to an existing facility to open 10 new lines for the production of healthy meat snacks, allowing WSP to meet the rapidly growing demand for their products. The project is expected to create 377 new jobs for the rural community. WSP provides high quality jobs, which feature a full benefits package, and a strong preference for upskilling employees and promoting from within.

Peter Sikorski, Chief Financial Officer of WSP, expressed his gratitude for the NMTC program, and commented on the company’s alignment with the goals of the program, stating, “At Western Smokehouse Partners, we are intentional about investing in communities where we can create meaningful, long-term opportunities. This expansion reflects our commitment to supporting local economies, creating quality jobs, and enhancing the lives of the people who live and work in the communities we serve.”

The use of New Markets Tax Credit financing allowed WSP to accelerate both the scale and timeline of their investment in the region, bringing a greater impact to Mexico at an expedited pace. Once fully operational in 2026, WSP is projected to create 377 permanent, full-time jobs and aid with broader regional economic development priorities.

“Heartland Renaissance Fund is proud to join Rural Development Partners and Mid-City Community in providing $46.25 million in New Markets Tax Credits to Western Smokehouse Partners,” said Sam Walls III, Chairman of Heartland Renaissance Fund. “Our investment underscores our commitment to driving meaningful economic growth in rural communities through the creation of quality jobs and long-term opportunities. We believe this partnership with WSP will not only expand production capabilities but also help revitalize the area for years to come.”

The NMTC is a flexible source of financing with better rates and terms than traditional financing for businesses and community organizations in America’s most distressed rural and urban communities. Without the NMTC many projects in these low-income communities would not be able to move forward.

About Heartland Renaissance Fund

Founded in 2003, Heartland Renaissance Fund is an affiliate of ACC Capital and is a certified Community Development Entity focused on revitalizing underserved communities across the American heartland. The organization has deployed over $425 million in NMTC and other community development financing, supporting projects that have created more than 5,000 jobs and leveraged $1 billion in total community investment. Heartland Renaissance Fund specializes in manufacturing and small business development in rural and small metropolitan areas across Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

Arkansas Capital Corporation Awarded $35 Million in Federal New Markets Tax Credits Allocation

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The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI) announced this week that Arkansas Capital Corporation, a CDFI Community Development Entity, is one of 73 applicants selected nationwide to share a total of $3.5 billion in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) for providing financing to low-income communities resulting in economic impacts, job creation, and other community benefits to these distressed areas.

Arkansas Capital Corporation is the only CDE in Arkansas to be awarded NMTCs in this round of allocations. It is the sixth award of allocations for Arkansas Capital Corporation since NMTCs were first awarded in 2003. The announcement brings to $300 million the total amount of NMTCs awarded to Arkansas Capital Corporation to grow business and economic investments into distressed communities in Arkansas and bordering states.

“Through the $265 million in NMTC allocations we’ve received in the previous five rounds, Arkansas Capital Corporation and our partners have produced 1,777 direct jobs and 924 construction jobs in the most distressed census tracts in our state,” said Sam Walls, president of Arkansas Capital Corporation. “These jobs are part of more than 30 projects deployed so far. With our local and state partners, we’ve been able to finance rural manufacturing operations, nonprofit, and educational facilities; and rehabilitated historic buildings in abandoned Main Street corridors,” he said.

Walls continued, “Arkansas Capital Corporation is always looking for impactful projects in Arkansas, especially in low-income areas, where local officials are struggling to find capital for projects to grow their economies, provide jobs, and overall increase the well-being of their communities. The NMTC program is a perfect opportunity to use tax credits to drive investments into the most underserved census tracts.”

Walls says successful deployment of NMTCs is not possible without local and state partners from both the public and private sectors. “Partnerships are key. We must rely on local officials to give us guidance on what projects are needed in their communities that have the most impact and be the best for the long term.”

Walls expects the new round of NMTCs will be deployed by this fall.

Arkansas Capital Corporation and its companies have worked since 1957 to offer flexible capital solutions to meet the unique needs of entrepreneurs, small businesses and other commercial projects underserved by traditional lenders. The NMTC program is an example of Arkansas Capital Corporation’s unique ability to work with the public and private sector to structure innovative financial products that promote catalytic economic development for Arkansas. Since 2010, through more than 200 transactions, Arkansas Capital Corporation has invested $443 million into Arkansas with the following outcomes:

  • More than 7,300 direct jobs supported across Arkansas Capital Corporation’s various loan products.
  • A $2.3 billion direct financial impact.
  • More than $74 million in tax revenue generated for the state.

“New Markets Tax Credits are a phenomenal program,” said Walls. “We are proud to have been able to bring them to the state.”

To read the U.S. Treasury’s New Markets Tax Credits Award Report, click here.

Heartland Renaissance Q & A with Christa Clark

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Heartland Renaissance Q & A with Christa Clark

Arkansas Capital is proud to announce that its CDE, Heartland Renaissance Fund, LLC, has been awarded a $65 million allocation in New Markets Tax Credits to foster investment in businesses and economic activities in low income and underserved communities throughout Arkansas. This allocation is the second-largest amount Heartland has ever been awarded. To learn more about this momentous occasion, we enlisted Christa Clark, Vice President of Heartland Renaissance Fund, to answer a few questions about the allocation, and give some insight on what how this money will change Arkansas communities for the better.

Q: What was your process for receiving the allocation?

A: New Market allocations are awarded by the Dept. of Treasury’s Community Development Institutions Funds in a competitive process each year. Heartland staff spends several weeks completing the application and analyzing the impacts from our prior investments when submitting the application. The applications are reviewed by third parties and by U.S. Treasury staff and scored.  Historically, only about 28% of applicants are awarded allocation in a given year in this highly competitive process. We are always honored when we are selected, as there are always over 200 other CDEs in the applicant pool with us. We are especially thrilled this year that this is our fifth award of allocation.

Q: What areas of Arkansas has Heartland worked most with in the past? What areas do you foresee benefiting from these funds?

A: Heartland focuses almost exclusively on investing in Arkansas’ low-income communities throughout the state.  We focus on areas that are underserved by traditional financing sources and direct our investments in the projects that have the most community and economic impacts to that area. As with prior allocations, Heartland will make investments statewide with at least half of its transactions in rural areas.

Q: What industries typically see the most benefit from these allocations?

A: That is one of the benefits of a flexible lending product like New Markets Tax Credits – we can use the funds to finance a variety of projects.  We have financed a wide range of projects with New Markets, everything from educational facilities to non-profits and large rural manufacturing. We will continue to focus on our three core areas of education, health care, and economic development projects throughout the state.

Q: What has been one of your most rewarding experiences working with Heartland?

A: It is hard to narrow that down to one. We have so many projects that I have been blessed to work with that are improving their communities. There was one manufacturing project that we worked several months to bring to financial closing that was located in a town in the Arkansas Delta with very high unemployment and had several large employers that had closed down in recent years.  When the project was about to open, I was doing a site visit and the company brought in BBQ and we ate with the newly hired plant workers in the cafeteria. The plant manager stood and thanked me, and explained how grateful they all were that they had jobs again and were able to provide for their families.

Q: How have you seen Heartland’s work positively impact the underserved businesses, the communities of underserved businesses and the entire state? 

A: There have been so many benefits to underserved areas from our investments.  Our New Markets financing was used to build a state-of-the-art life skills and work training facility for disabled adults in northwest Arkansas.  We have seen hundreds of first generation students attend college for the first time. There has been thousands of quality jobs created in Arkansas’ manufacturing sector that are located in some of the most economically disadvantaged areas throughout the state. Our investments have enabled environmentally-sustainable products to be produced here in Arkansas and have revitalized Main Streets transforming once shuttered properties into vibrant city centers.We continue to see positive impacts for years after we close a transaction as these investments serve as catalysts for economic growth in these communities.

E-Waste Mining Center Digs Up NMTCs

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  Download pdf: E-Waste Mining Center Digs Up NMTCs BlueOakA new electronic waste (e-waste) recycling center under construction in Osceola, Ark., has project partners calling it “the place where the Silicon Valley meets the Mississippi Delta.” Developed by California-based BlueOak Resources Inc. using federal new markets tax credit (NMTC) financing, the BlueOak Arkansas facility will use a high-temperature furnace to extract precious metals found in electronics, such as circuit boards and cell phones. Priv Bradoo, BlueOak’s co-founder and CEO, said that the concentration of precious metals in electronic scrap, such as printed circuit boards, is more than 100 times greater than precious metals in the same amount of virgin ore. With more than 50 million tons of e-waste being generated around the world every year, she said people have a responsibility to recognize these waste streams as a valuable resource. Bradoo said the Osceola facility will be the first of its kind in the United States dedicated to recovering high-value metals from electronic scrap. Once BlueOak begins operations at the end of 2015, it will be able to process at least 15 million pounds of e-waste annually with technology designed to be both efficient and environmentally friendly. “If the BlueOak technology works, it will not only lessen environmental degradation resulting from mining, it will also dramatically lower the amount of harmful pollutants emitted from current recycling processes, as well as drastically reduce the toxic exposure currently confronted by individuals involved in e-waste recycling around the globe–many of whom are already suffering from living in deep poverty,” said Deborah La Franchi, president of National New Markets Funds, which was one of BlueOak’s NMTC allocatees. [Read more…]

CDFI Fund Launches New Mapping System, Helps CDEs Transition

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CDFI Fund CIMS Mapping ToolThe Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund today launched the latest version of its CDFI Information Mapping System (CIMS3). The web-based tool allows organizations interested in getting certified as a CDFI or community development entity (CDE), or those interested in applying to one of the CDFI Fund’s award programs, to plot their eligible service areas and investments. [Read more…]

Mann on Main Project Opens Today

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Mann on MainDoyle Rogers Company and Moses Tucker Real Estate will be officially opening the doors of its Mann on Main mixed use (office/residential/retail) asset, the fully restored and redeveloped former Blass Department Store at Main & 4th Streets, Downtown Little Rock, event begins at 10:00 am, Thursday, September 5th. Leaders from the project and executives of the firm will be in attendance, as well as the structure’s many office tenants and Arkansas Governor Michael Beebe, Mayor Mark Stodola, and Ms. Anne Laidlaw will be guests of honor. Joint venture development partners, Moses Tucker Real Estate, Inc. and Doyle Rogers Company are announcing the completion of Mann on Main (Project), a major, mixed use redevelopment project on Little Rock’s historic Main Street. The development was a collaboration of efforts and resources of the two established commercial real estate groups, both of which have long affected the skyline of downtown Little Rock and both catalysts for downtown growth and reinvestment. The property consists of the Mann Building, a 90,000 square foot office building at the corner of 4th and Main Streets, Mann Lofts, a 30,000 square foot multifamily residential component, theground floor retail of both buildings, and a 4 level parking garage at the corner of Louisiana and 4th Streets. [Read more…]

Developers Mark Opening of Mann on Main in Little Rock

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Mann on Main Doyle Rogers Co. and Moses Tucker Real Estate on Thursday marked the grand opening of its Mann on Main mixed-use building, the fully restored and redeveloped former Blass Department Store at Main and 4th streets in downtown Little Rock. The $22 million project includes the Mann Building, a 90,000-SF office building at the corner of 4th and Main; the Mann Lofts, a 30,000-SF multifamily residential component; the ground floor retail of both buildings; and a four-level parking garage at the corner of Louisiana and 4th streets. [Read more…]

$22 million Main Street redevelopment project dedicated

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Mann on Main
PHOTO BY GAVIN LESNICK
A crowd is gathered for the dedication of the Mann on Main, a $22 million effort to redevelop the seven-story structure at left and the three-story adjoining annex to the right.
A $22 million redevelopment of a historic structure on Little Rock’s Main Street was formally dedicated Thursday, the latest effort in an ongoing process to revitalize the once active downtown stretch. The Mann on Main project in the former Blass Department Store at Fourth and Main streets was opened during a ceremony that featured Gov. Mike Beebe and Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola, who both stressed the importance of bringing life back to the once-thriving area. It’s been plagued in more recent years by vacant structures and boarded-up windows. “Main Street was and is the most important street in the state of Arkansas,” Stodola said. “It’s a crossroads to the capital. It’s the crossroads to the river. It’s the crossroads to the excitement and activity that downtowns bring to a community.” [Read more…]

Heartland Renaissance Fund Names Becka Webb Vice President

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Becka WebbHeartland Renaissance Fund, an affiliate of The Arkansas Capital Corporation Group, is pleased to name Becka Webb as vice president. Webb will focus on implementing state and federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocations through Heartland. Heartland has $200 million in federal and a recently announced $19 million in state NMTC allocations. “Becka will be focused on working with clients on the implementation of New Markets Tax Credit allocations in disadvantaged areas of the state,” said Sam Walls III, president, Heartland Renaissance Fund. “Her financial background, along with her experience in lending, is a great fit for our organization, which is focused on job creation and helping businesses expand in Arkansas.” [Read more…]

New Markets Tax Credits Deal Done

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In the latest legislative session, Arkansas lawmakers passed a measure touted as a jobs creator, the Arkansas New Markets Job Act. The bill encouraged private sector investment in small businesses, particularly in low-income regions, by providing tax credits tied to private capital investments including at existing businesses. On Tuesday (July 9), Heartland Renaissance Fund, an affiliate of The Arkansas Capital Corporation Group, said it will provide $10 million in New Markets Tax Credits to SGL Group’s Ozark, Ark. manufacturing facility.  Heartland’s investment is part of a federal new markets program, as the state’s version does not go into effect until July 15. [Read more…]