There are three types of fiscal tools that can be used to look at economic projects: an economic-impact model, a fiscal-impact model and a cost-benefit model. A cost-benefit model balances the approaches of economic- and fiscal-impact modeling, and evaluates the change in economic activity, government revenues and costs for a new project.

The use of private activity bonds would be expanded to include financing for new charging stations for zero-emission vehicles under recently introduced Greener Transportation for Communities Act. Several other bills that would expand the usage of PABs have been introduced in this Congress, including the Move America Act and the Public Buildings Renewal Act.

The neighborhood of West Oakland, CA got a much-needed grocery store with a healthy foods focus, which was financed partly by a new markets tax credit investment. Capital One was a community development entity and investor, providing a $1.5 million NMTC allocation and a $3.6 million NMTC equity investment.

The second and likely final public hearing for the Opportunity Zones incentive showed that the incentive's staunchest advocates are still hoping the federal government makes some changes to the rules before they are finalized. The second hearing was held on July 9, 2019.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced that it will co-lead an Opportunity Zone-focused workforce challenge of the U.S. Census Bureau's "The Opportunity Project (TOP)" initiative. TOP is an accelerator program that matches tech companies, universities, government, and communities together to create useful digital products for the public.

As the investment community in the United States, particularly within the fields of sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing, shows an increasing appetite for investing in sustainable agriculture and food systems across asset classes, a subset of investors is demonstrating growing interest in financing not simply "sustainable" agriculture but agriculture that is deemed explicitly "regenerative."

Buildings and infrastructure are still being repaired and upgraded, and the government has instituted a full slate of tax incentives to lure investors. On top of this, Puerto Rico is the beneficiary of community development block grant funding, and 97% of the entire commonwealth — much of it beachfront — has been designated a qualified opportunity zone.

Construction has resumed on a 1-MW small hydroelectric facility at the Upper Collinsville Dam on the Farmington River in Canton, CT. The total project cost is about $6.6 million, with the Connecticut Green Bank providing a $1.2 million subordinate loan and $500,000 limited guaranty to leverage a $4.7 million senior loan from The Provident Bank through the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Goshen Health, a rural Indiana hospital that has bucked the negative trends experienced by many of its counterparts nationally, will sell $70 million of debt to finance a four-story patient tower. The bonds will sell through the Indiana Finance Authority and are secured by a gross receivables pledge. The hospital has not issued bonds in the last 25 years.

Infrastructure leaders need predictable funding to plan for large projects, and uncertainty about the future of federal spending is hampering the ability of state departments of transportation to structure financings that include bonding.

Researched and written by CDFA, this is the third white paper in a series examining the potential creation of a food systems asset class which supports the market growth of local and regional food systems. This paper focuses specifically on bond financing, which CDFA considers a ‘bedrock tool' for the historic and foundational role bonds have played in public financing.

During this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series, we will explore some of the creative financing tools that are being utilized in Main Street Communities around the country.

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