Group to redevelop Erie building using tax credit program

The Erie Center for Arts and Technology (ECAT) will redevelop the former Wayne School Building on Erie’s East Side using New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC) funding.

The NMTC Program was enacted by Congress as part of the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000 and is part of the Internal Revenue Code. The program provides federal tax credits to individual and corporate taxpayers who invest in supporting certified Community Development Entities that invest in low-income communities.

This is the first NMTC in Erie County.

Once the project is completed, the building will house a community arts space, provide for a nursing school, offer job-training facilities, expand the community-based health office run by Primary Health Network, and enable the United Way to work in the neighborhoods it serves.

“This is a tribute to all of the community partners who made today a reality,” state Sen. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) said. “This truly is a community project. It has the support of numerous business leaders, such as UPMC, the Erie Community Foundation, Erie Bank, Northwest Bank, and the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority. As we moved forward, this will mean much more than the redevelopment of one building. It is a project that has the potential to impact many lives and spark an economic development renaissance on Erie’s East Side.”