Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf and PHFA Announce Commonwealth Cornerstone Group to Receive $45 Million in New Markets Tax Credits

HARRISBURG, Pa., June 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency today announced that Commonwealth Cornerstone Group has secured $45 million in new markets tax credit (NMTC) allocations from the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. Commonwealth Cornerstone Group (CCG) is a nonprofit community development entity created by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.

CCG is one of 76 community development entities nationwide receiving an allocation of the total $3.512 billion in new markets tax credits announced by the Treasury Department on June 15. With this newest allocation, CCG has received six NMTC awards totaling $271 million, which it has used to fund 25 developments in the state.

"We are excited to receive this allocation from the U.S. Treasury," Gov. Wolf said. "These tax credits will be used to support mixed-use development in low-income communities, helping to attract additional investments and jobs that pay in those towns and cities."

The goal of CCG is to use tax credits like these to fund projects in communities that have historic or cultural value, as well as to offer opportunities to spur economic revitalization. The new markets tax credits announced yesterday will help to provide loans and equity investments for business expansion, mixed-use development, and community facilities across Pennsylvania.

Examples of past developments that have benefited from CCG's investment of these tax credits include Bakery Square in Pittsburgh, ArtsQuest's performing arts space in Bethlehem, and, most recently, the Stephen Klein Wellness Center in Philadelphia, among others. More information about CCG and the developments it has funded is available on the Web at: http://www.commonwealthcornerstone.org/.

"Commonwealth Cornerstone Group has a strong record of accomplishment with past tax credit allocations, and this new round of tax credits will allow us to expand on those successes, helping to revitalize Pennsylvania communities," said Brian A. Hudson Sr., chairman of CCG and executive director and CEO of PHFA.

The NMTC program, established by Congress in December 2000, allows for individual and corporate taxpayers to receive credits for making equity investments in community development entities. The credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period. For every dollar invested by the federal government, the NMTC program generates more than eight dollars in private investment.

For more information about the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, please visit: www.cdfifund.gov.

About PHFA
The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency works to provide affordable homeownership and rental housing options for older adults, low- and moderate-income families, and people with special housing needs. Through its carefully managed mortgage programs and investments in multifamily housing developments, PHFA also promotes economic development across the state. Since its creation by the legislature in 1972, it has generated more than $11.9 billion of funding for more than 158,900 single-family home mortgage loans, helped fund the construction of 122,590 rental units, and saved the homes of more than 48,100 families from foreclosure. PHFA programs and operations are funded primarily by the sale of securities and from fees paid by program users, not by public tax dollars. The agency is governed by a 14-member board.

MEDIA CONTACT: Scott Elliott, PHFA, 717-649-6522, [email protected]

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

Related Links

http://www.governor.state.pa.us