Capital Impact Partners Announces Nearly $32 Million in First-Quarter Lending

ARLINGTON, Va., June 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital Impact Partners announced today that it provided nearly $32 million in financing to projects in underserved communities during the first quarter of 2015. Capital Impact financed four Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) projects that will enable additional access to integrated health care for more than 17,000 low-income or uninsured patients around the country. The quarter was also marked by Capital Impact joining the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) and leadership recognition for two of the organization's senior staff members.

The projects financed by Capital Impact are expected to create more than 250 permanent jobs in the health care, education, and healthy food sectors; significantly expand CIP's presence in Michigan, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest; and further the organization's mission of using strategic financing to drive social impact in underserved communities.

"Once again, we demonstrated our leadership in the health care space by supporting projects that will increase access to critical services for thousands of needy patients," said Terry Simonette, president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners. "I'm also proud of our Federal Home Loan Bank Atlanta membership, as this demonstrates the growing recognition of the role that Community Development Financial Institutions play in delivering social impact in the financial sector."

As an FHLBank Atlanta member, Capital Impact now has access to the competitively priced financing, community development grants, and other banking services that help the more than 900 of the bank's financial member institutions grow and prosper. There are more than 800 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) in the U.S. and Capital Impact is one of only approximately 30 that make up the 7,400 member institutions in the FHLBank system.

In further acknowledgement of Capital Impact's work, two of the organization's senior staff members have recently been recognized by their peers. Amy Sue Leavens, general counsel, was honored by Legal Bisnow and the Association of Corporate Counsel—National Capital Region chapter as a Washington, D.C., Top Corporate Counsel. Ellis Carr, Chief Financial Officer, was included in the prestigious Washington Business Journal 40 under 40 list of rising local leaders.

"While we are thrilled at the personal recognition, it is really the staff here at Capital Impact that should be congratulated," said Carr in response to the honor. "It is because of the entire team that we are able to celebrate the community impact and institutional leadership we have achieved this past quarter."

In the first quarter of 2015, Capital Impact Partners worked with community partners and borrowers and closed the following transactions:

Reducing Health Disparities Nationwide
With $200,000 in financing made available through Capital Impact's CPCA Ventures Loan Fund, The Achievable Foundation now has the working capital it needs to support its first year of operations. This new clinic was created to provide a complete range of vital, high quality primary and specialty healthcare services to thousands of children and adults with developmental disabilities across Los Angeles, Calif.   

"While we often finance large projects, such as the construction of a new facility, our artisanal lending approach allows us to also support smaller projects that have big impact. This transaction with The Achievable Foundation is a perfect example," said Scott Sporte, Chief Lending Officer at Capital Impact Partners.

Financing in the amount of $6.75 million provided by Capital Impact and its partners to Axis Community Health—a community health center that serves the Tri-Valley area east of Oakland, Calif.—will make possible the construction of a new 24,000-sq.-ft. clinic that will double Axis's capacity, allowing it to serve more than 10,000 additional patients annually. Although the Tri-Valley is a mostly suburban area that includes some wealthy communities, it is also has significant concentrations of poverty. Nearly half of Axis's patients speak a language other than English, and more than 72 percent live at or below the Federal Poverty Level. Demand for Axis's services is growing so rapidly that they are currently adding more than 400 new patients each month, and without this new facility, scheduling times for appointments will stretch beyond 30 days.

This project will create 50 new jobs and allow Axis to implement an innovative integrated behavioral health model that combines primary care and behavioral health care in a single, coordinated system. Capital Impact worked with The California Endowment and the CPCA Ventures Loan Fund to provide flexible loan terms and a below-market interest rate, allowing the health center to devote more of its cash flow to patient services.

Capital Impact increased its presence in the Pacific Northwest with a $4.9 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation toward the financing of a new healthcare facility called Meridian Center for Health, in Seattle, Wash. The 44,000-sq.-ft. center will replace an old facility, as well as adding dental services and increasing its capacity to serve low-income patients from the northern section of the city from 7,000 to 14,000 annually. Meridian will also now include a "learning kitchen" that will help patients acquire the skills to prepare healthy meals. Additionally, the project will create 30 construction jobs and 38 new permanent jobs. 

Meridian Center will be operated by Neighborcare Health, the largest healthcare provider for Seattle's low-income and uninsured residents. Neighborcare Health is a Federally Qualified Health Center that operates 24 sites in the Emerald City, serving 52,000 patients annually, 66 percent of whom live at or below the Federal Poverty Level. The staff speaks more than 40 languages and dialects to meet the patients' diverse needs. 

Capital Impact worked with its technical assistance partner Capital Link, as well two new partners, the Seattle Investment Fund LLC and Wells Fargo, to complete the transaction.

Increasing Healthy Food Access:
Capital Impact partnered with another CDFI, IFF, on the $900,000 financing of a new 16,000-sq.-ft. Save-A-Lot grocery store in St. Louis, Ill., that will increase healthy food access for 34,000 people in a low-income area that has been designated an urban food desert. This redevelopment of an abandoned shopping center in one of the economically poorest cities in the country will include a job training and placement center for local residents in addition to creating 60 permanent, full-time jobs with health benefits, most being filled by local residents.

In addition to financing traditional food retailers, Capital Impact participated in a $5.8 million NMTC allocation enabling Meals On Wheels of Tarrant County, in Texas, to build a new 61,000-sq.-ft. warehouse and kitchen facility. The non-profit organization delivers nearly one million fresh, healthy meals annually to a predominantly low-income elderly population with limited ability to purchase and prepare food for themselves. The enhanced capacity will enable them to increase deliveries by 50 percent over the next few years, reaching thousands more individuals and providing at least 1.5 million meals annually. The organization will also expand its in-house nutrition and case-management services. Capital Impact partnered with JPMorgan Chase, Community Hospitality Healthcare Services, and Urban Action Community Development on this transaction, which will create 125 full-time jobs.

Supporting Inclusive Housing and Vibrant Communities in Detroit
Capital Impact financed a second Detroit Neighborhoods Fund project in partnership with JPMorgan Chase. The $1.5 million in financing supports the acquisition and rehabilitation of 80 units in northwest Detroit called Granada Apartments. This affordable housing complex is in close proximity to high-quality schools, health care, and grocery options.

Improving Educational Achievement
Capital Impact provided $8.2 million in financing for the construction of a new educational facility at the West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science (WMAES), a high-performing charter school serving low-income pre-K through 12^th grade students in greater Grand Rapids, Mich. The school's strong academic performance was recently recognized when it was ranked the #7 best school district in in the state by The Center for Michigan.

WMAES's curriculum focuses on environmental education, making use of 60 acres of mostly undeveloped land to educate its students on growing vegetables, wetlands, avian life, and water and land use. The new facility will replace old modular buildings and increase the school's capacity from 650 to 900 students, nearly 75 percent of whom qualify for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program. In addition, the project will create six new permanent teaching positions. 

Capital Impact partnered with Liberty Bank and Trust and the General Board of Pensions of the United Methodist Church on this transaction, allowing the school to provide more excellent educational opportunities for children living in Michigan's second largest city.

Capital Impact Partners delivers strategic financing, incubates new social programs and provides capacity-building to help ensure that low-to-moderate-income individuals have access to quality health care and education, healthy foods, affordable housing, and the ability to age with dignity. A nonprofit community development financial institution, Capital Impact has disbursed more than $2 billion to revitalize communities over the last 30 years. Headquartered in Arlington, Va., Capital Impact operates nationally with offices in Detroit, Mich., and Oakland, Calif. Learn more at www.capitalimpact.org

SOURCE Capital Impact Partners

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