As educational institutions of all types struggle to keep pace with facility maintenance, charter schools in particular have become innovative in using various financing tools to meet contemporary building needs. Join us on May 16 at 2:00 PM Eastern to hear experts share how charter schools are putting bond finance to work through public-private partnership approaches to better provide the facilities needed to support learning outcomes.

The City of Atlanta announced a historic investment of $200 million in public and philanthropic resources to deliver affordable quality housing. Atlanta's mayor is working with the city council to pass a $100 million affordable housing bond while also receiving a $100 million commitment from The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation to leverage the proposed public funding to expedite the development of affordable housing in Atlanta.

MassDevelopment has issued a $3.3 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of 23 Farrar Street LLC, an affiliate of Soliyarn Inc., which will use proceeds to buy and renovate a vacant 18,000 s/f building located at 23 Farrar St. The company expects to create 84 full-time jobs and 10 part-time jobs over the next three years. Reading Cooperative Bank purchased the bond, which helped Soliyarn achieve a lower cost of capital. MassDevelopment enhanced the bond with a guarantee.

Governor Wes Moore and the Maryland Department of Commerce recently announced that six small, minority, and veteran-owned businesses have been approved for a total of nearly $2.7 million in financial assistance to support business growth in Maryland. The funding comes in the form of loans and lines of credit through two state programs—the Military Personnel and Veteran-owned Small Business Loan Program and the Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced NY Green Bank, a division of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the state's clean energy and sustainable infrastructure financing entity, has launched a $250 million Community Decarbonization Fund. The CDF, a wholesale lending pathway that will provide low-cost capital to Community Development Financial Institutions and other mission-driven lenders for local clean energy and building electrification projects and other scopes of work, will support lenders financing projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in disadvantaged communities.

The North Carolina Local Government Commission approved the Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority's request for $175 million in transportation revenue bonds to be used for the airport's expansion and modernization projects. The LGC is chaired by State Treasurer Dale Folwell and is staffed by his department. The commission is tasked statutorily with approving most debt issued by units of local government and public authorities and monitoring the financial well-being of more than 1,100 local government units.

Santa Rosa is pursuing a new economic development tool that city officials hope will drive more private investment into the city's urban core. The City Council unanimously adopted a resolution of intention — the first step in a lengthy process — to form a new financing district that would use a portion of property taxes to pay for infrastructure improvements and other projects.

The USDA has announced investments of more than $36 million in nearly 100 projects to improve water quality, roads, trails, bridges and fish habitat on national forests and grasslands nationwide. The announcement is part of President Biden's Investing in America agenda and the Administration's work to build a clean energy economy while creating economic opportunity in communities across the country. The investments are made possible by President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The City of Cleveland, through its Department of Economic Development, is soliciting proposals from qualified organizations and teams for the creation and implementation of a Minority Business Credit Enhancement Fund. Send electronic copies to Isabel Espinal at iespinal@clevelandohio.gov

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