New Markets Tax Credits invested into North Flint Food Market Project

LANSING, Mich. – North Flint Reinvestment (NFR) will develop the North Flint Food Market (NFFM) with assistance of $6.8 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation provided by Michigan Community Capital (MCC) last week. The project involves the renovation of a roughly 21,225-square-foot, single-story, vacant building on the north side of the city of Flint. As a full-service, cooperatively owned grocery store, North Flint Food Market will give members an opportunity to invest in their neighborhood while filling a void left by the nearby closures of large franchise markets in north Flint, a documented food desert.

The development team has engaged THA Architects Engineers to work alongside a team of grocery experts to design a retail model, exterior facade, interior floor plan, and product mix that will serve and inspire the north Flint community. A full‐service grocery area of 11,800 square feet will offer robust produce, dairy, meat and frozen departments, supported by an optimal level of work and storage area. A 1,300-square-foot room will function as a community event center that will be available for event rentals and informal gatherings.

The NFFM co-op already has more than 850 members, demonstrating the strength of support that exists within the community. The project developer, North Flint Reinvestment, has received letters of support from the Mayor of Flint, Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Flint and Genesee Chamber of Commerce, Community Foundation of Greater Flint, Ruth Mott Foundation, and U.S. Senator of Michigan Debbie Stabenow.

North Flint Food Market will create 28 new full-time equivalent jobs in a census tract where 41.3% of the population falls below the poverty line.

“This co-op market project will not only expand access to healthy food and create jobs in a low-income neighborhood, but it will spark future development. MCC’s decision to allocate NMTCs to the project is an impactful welcomed investment in north Flint,” said Dr. Reginald Flynn, executive director of the North Flint Reinvestment and co-founder of the North Flint Food Market.

Total project costs for NFFM are expected to be roughly $7 million; Michigan Community Capital will provide $6.8 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocation.

“As a project that will have a long-term positive impact on residents and members, the NFFM aligns with the investment pillars we have at MCC,” said Eric Hanna, president and CEO of Michigan Community Capital. “We’d like to congratulate the project team on getting a complex, but very high-impact, project to the finish line.”

US Bank’s community investment and tax credit division is supporting the project by investing $2 million in tax credit equity in the transaction.

“U.S. Bank invests in projects that help local communities thrive, and the North Flint Food Market will do just that,” said Paul Kinsella, NMTC account manager with U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation (USBCDC), the community investment and tax credit division of U.S. Bank. “It will bring easier access to food right here in the neighborhood, create jobs, and it has the longer-term potential to help improve health outcomes for those who live here. When the private and public sectors work together, we can help remove disparities and have a lasting impact in our communities.”

Additional leveraged loan sources to NFR include grant awards from CS Mott Foundation, Ruth Mott Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Flint, Local Initiatives Support Corporation Flint, State of Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity program, the Federal Healthy Food Financing Initiative program, and Community Development Block Grant funds from the City of Flint.

The project is the second phase of NFR’s four-part plan for the comprehensive redevelopment and revitalization of the Pierson Road Corridor from Clio Road to North Saginaw Street. This geography is identified in the City of Flint’s Imagine Flint Master Plan as one of the most undersupplied retail markets in Flint. To learn more about this four-part plan, visit www.facebook.com/NFFMKT.

About North Flint Reinvestment

North Flint Reinvestment (NFR) is a 501(c)(3) community development corporation focused on battling economic and environmental injustices. Established in 2011, NFR takes a place‐based, holistic approach to revitalizing the severely distressed neighborhoods in North Flint, Michigan. As a community catalyst, NFR is implementing community revitalization strategies through the construction of mixed income housing, improved “cradle‐to‐college” educational opportunities, youth and adult development programs, job and independent living skills training, health and wellness initiatives, and commercial and business district redevelopment. The organization is focused on a narrow geography in North Flint to concentrate its social impact, create an uplifting gathering place for local residents, and mobilize this overlooked community.

About Michigan Community Capital

Michigan Community Capital (MCC) is a non-profit diversified public-private partnership that supports the missions of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) by aggregating capital and facilitating the financing and development of low-income and attainable housing, and the redevelopment of complex brownfield sites within the State of Michigan. MCC is a U.S. Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and the only Community Development Entity (CDE) that deploys this resource solely throughout the entire State of Michigan. Over its 16-year history, MCC has supported over $1 billion in project financing, successfully attracted $320 million in federal New Markets Tax Credits, and helped to create over 750 housing units and 1.3 million square feet of commercial, retail and industrial space to facilitate job creation and expansion. MCC provides products in four key pillars: housing equity, bridge and gap lending, New Markets Tax Credits, and property insurance for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit projects. For more information on MCC visit michigancommunitycapital.org.

To learn more about the New Markets Tax Credit program visit www.cdfifund.gov/nmtc.