The Roadmap to Redevelopment Report was developed through a 2-day process that included interviews with numerous stakeholders from the government, agriculture, business, and non-profit sectors. The plan provides a framework for the financing of the redevelopment of One Monument Square in Troy, New York.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and FDIC will publish their joint notice of proposed rulemaking for updated Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations in the Federal Register. Meanwhile, Lael Brainard - a member of the Fed's board of governors - explained that the Fed opted out of the proposed rulemaking because it desired metrics more focused on local conditions and bank sizes.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's new interactive map provides information about the location and characteristics of significant transportation-related facilities that are located in or near Opportunity Zones.

As federal tax incentives for wind and solar energy projects set to expire this year, project costs will increase, which is sure to impact the renewable energy market in 2020. One approach for utilities looking to develop renewable energy is to consider siting the project on brownfields to reduce project costs and speed up permitting timelines.

Federal opportunity zones, which offer tax benefits to qualifying businesses, are little known and not always well understood. But they can offer important advantages to solar companies, adding to solar tax benefits such as the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC). They can potentially be used to help offset some of the step-down in the ITC.

After almost two years of payments from the Farm Service Agency's Market Facilitation Program, the total received by Agrifund LLC, or ARM, is about $75 million. ARM is an industry-termed "alternative lender" because it is lightly regulated, it generally charges higher interest rates than traditional lenders, and farmers face fewer obstacles to getting the loans.

Forrest Milder walks us through highlights of the recently finalized Opportunity Zone regulations under tax code Section 1400Z-2. He praises the IRS for including a great deal of flexibility in these regulations, but he also cautions that many technical and transition rules will require very careful reading and application.

Chicago developers are making bold plays to turn long-vacant brownfield sites, obsolete industrial corridors, and underutilized historic buildings into sprawling megadevelopments. The recent push to "go big" represents a desire by developers to land big corporate tenants and provide the related housing, retail, and other needs in surrounding mixed-use campuses.

Louisiana signed off on the state's first transportation project using a public-private partnership after opposition to tolls in Plaquemines Parish nearly derailed it. The state signed a comprehensive agreement with Plenary Infrastructure Belle Chasse LLC to build the $162 million Belle Chasse Bridge and Tunnel Replacement Project.

This year will be a challenging time to grow the issuance of tax-exempt private activity bonds because New York and four other states have had their annual volume caps reduced and other states are getting increases of no more than 1.6%. The challenge will be biggest in the three states that were found by the CDFA to be closest to using their 2018 limits — California, New York and Massachusetts.

Enforcers will have a strong focus on municipal advisor rules and timely issuer financial disclosure in 2020. Securities lawyers and muni market participants told The Bond Buyer where the Securities and Exchange Commission could be headed in the next year. One thing is for sure, sources agreed — the SEC will continue being active in the municipal advisor space.

During this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast, hear from our experts as they dive into the data, examine the trends, and offer a preview of the bond market in 2020.

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