Pittsburgh Urban Initiatives receives $50 million in federal tax credits

The U.S. Treasury Department recently awarded the Pittsburgh Urban Initiatives (PUI) $50 million in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC).

PUI invests in office, retail, mixed-use, and community facility developments designed to rehabilitate abandoned and blighted sites. It is a Community Development Entity affiliated with The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA), an economic development agency.

Established by Congress in 2000, the NMTC Program is intended to help economically distressed communities attract private investment capital, providing critical funding. It provides tax credits to investors who make “qualified equity investments” in Community Development Entities (CDEs) who are required to invest in low-income communities.

“This NMTC allocation will allow the URA to continue investing in projects that create community benefit through jobs, improved access to commercial services such as fresh food, and much needed affordable for-sale housing,” Greg Flisram, URA executive director, said. “I applaud PUI President Rebecca Davidson-Wagner, and our consultant team, Affirmative Investments, on their successful track record of attracting private capital to benefit low-income communities in our city.”

PUI has received $238 million in NMTC since February 2011.

NMTC has funded PUI projects that have totaled more than $500 million and have created more than 3,066 construction jobs, 3,792 permanent jobs, and 4,443 residential units.