NYC Regional Center Closes $19 Million Tax Financing for Armory Foundation

NEW YORK — New York City Regional Center has announced the closing of $19,000,000 in New Market Tax Credit financing to help fund building upgrades and ongoing operating expenses at the Armory Nike Track & Field Center in Washington Heights. The $19 million of funding will assist the non-profit Armory Foundation in continuing its robust after-school youth programming as well implementing necessary capital improvements to the 250,000 square foot complex built in 1911.

The Armory Foundation oversees the premier indoor track & field center in America and hosts over 100 track meets annually including the marquee Millrose Games. In addition to providing a training facility for thousands of athletes a year, the Armory Foundation maintains the National Track & Field Hall of Fame and operates the largest after-school activities center in New York. The goal of the Armory Foundation is to serve the area’s youth by promoting fitness, a love of sport, and the pursuit of individual excellence. The Armory College Prep High School Program provides college prep and academic counseling services to hundreds of under resourced New York City public high school students. The Armory College Prep Middle School Program offers academic support, computer science education, and high school application guidance to local middle school students.

The transaction utilized a portion of the New Market Tax Credit allocation awarded from the U.S. Department of Treasury to NYCR-CDE, a Community Development Entity managed by New York City Regional Center (“NYCRC”). To receive a New Market Tax Credit allocation award, NYCRC was required to demonstrate a mission and track record of providing investment capital for low-income communities. Examples of other economic development projects utilizing NYCRC new market tax credit financing over the past seven years include:

• Construction of the National Urban League’s new headquarters in Harlem which includes New York City’s first civil rights museum;
• Construction of four charter schools in the Bronx (KIPP NYC Charter School, DREAM Charter School, Neighborhood Charter School, and Comp Sci High);
• Construction of one charter school in Harlem (Promise Academy) and one charter school in Brooklyn (Achievement First); and,
• Expansion of St. John’s Episcopal Hospital Center in Far Rockaway.

The New Market Tax Credit Program was created by Congress in 2000 in an effort to stimulate private investment and economic growth in low-income neighborhoods and rural communities that lack access to capital. Historically, low-income communities often have difficulty attracting investment. The program aims to break this cycle of disinvestment by attracting the private investment necessary to reinvigorate struggling local economies. Private capital is incentivized by providing federal income tax credits to investors in exchange for making equity investments in low-income neighborhoods.