Capital Impact Partners Tops $2 Billion in Loans Supporting Low Income Communities

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Capital Impact Partners announced today that its community development financing work topped the two billion dollar mark across the organization's 30-year history. Capital Impact Partners has financed projects in underserved communities nationwide, helping more than 3 million low-to-moderate income people have increased access to better health care and education, healthy foods and alternative care options for older adults.

"Surpassing 2 billion dollars in lending to support those who are serving low to middle income people is not only a milestone for Capital Impact Partners, but the entire community financial development industry," said Terry Simonette, President and CEO of Capital Impact Partners.  "I am incredibly proud of our long history in helping to transforming underserved communities, into strong vibrant places of opportunity."

Capital Impact reported that its disbursement totals crossed over the $2 billion mark during the third quarter of 2014 as a result of financing several projects that support Detroit's revitalization, charters schools and community health care centers.

It was also reported in the independent 2014 Charter School Facility Finance Landscape report by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) that Capital Impact has directly financed 30% of all charter school lending nationwide, making it the leading community development financial institution (CDFI) in this sector.  As of December 31, 2013, Capital Impact had disbursed $630.6 million out of the total of $2,110.4 million to high performing charter schools.

In addition, Capital Impact retains the longest history among CDFIs for lending to community health centers.  With three-quarters of a billion dollars in financing, Capital Impact has helped build or expand over 500 community health centers serving nearly 2 million patients.

"We are certainly proud of this historical accomplishment," said Scott Sporte, Chief Lending Officer for Capital Impact Partners. "In addition to these impressive lending totals, we are also celebrating our social impact by creating opportunities for people to live healthier lives, have affordable housing, get a good education, access healthy food and age with dignity.  It shows we are fulfilling our mission of helping people and communities reach their highest potential at every stage of life."

In the third quarter of 2014, Capital Impact Partners worked with borrowers to close the following transactions:

Forest Arms is a historic Detroit building - built in 1905 - that sat vacant for six years after a devastating fire.  Capital Impact Partners worked with two local entrepreneurs to broker a deal with several partners utilizing historic and new market tax credits to finance the rebuilding of this is housing project.  Capital Impact directly provided approximately $3.5 million in bridge and construction loans.   Forest Arms will provide housing for 70 families and commercial space for local businesses, bringing much needed housing and small business into Midtown as part of Detroit's revitalization.

"The participation of Capital Impact Partners helped in what turned out to be a fairly complex financing package," said Scott Lowell, Forest Arms Owner.  "Without the moral support of friends, neighbors, as well as the involvement of our financing partners, we would not be in the position we are today--restoration underway!"

Woodward Willis is a new 3-story mixed-use development that will be built on a vacant and blighted plot of land located on the northeast corner of Woodward Avenue and West Willis Street in Detroit. Capital Impact provided $2.8 million in senior construction and permanent loans as part of the organizations efforts to revitalize Detroit. This project will bring in new jobs and encourage economic growth and redensification in the surrounding Woodward Corridor neighborhood. The anchor tenant for the project will be the 81-year old Lawrence Tech University offering undergraduate, masters, and doctoral programs in engineering, architecture, science, and applied technology.

Friends of Marion P. Thomas provides high quality education to 1,297 K-12 low-income students in Newark, NJ.  Capital Impact provided a bridge loan and a $6.6 million 25-year fixed-rate loan at below market pricing. Through this partnership, the school was able to refinance its current debt and secure financing for a brand new high school focused on the arts that is set to open in 2015.  This loan provides the operators with predictability and allows them to dedicate as much of their revenue as possible to help their students jumpstart their education and climb out of poverty.

Fortune School worked with Capital Impact to finance a new middle school to build on its existing elementary school in Sacramento, California.  The $1.1 million tenant improvement loan will allow the school to add grades 6-8, and serve 150 new students, most of whom receive free or reduced lunch.  This loan will increase the impact of Fortune School's efforts to reduce disparities in educational outcomes for African American students.

Granada Hills Charter High School is the largest charter high school in the nation, serving 4,300 students in suburban Los Angeles County.  More than half the enrolled students at this high performing school qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch program.  This school was once a traditional public school, but parents, teachers and administrators banded together to convert the school into a charter school in order to provide more autonomy and educational flexibility. Capital Impact provided the school with a $4 million bridge loan to jumpstart their effort create a second campus and serve more students.

Watts Healthcare Corporation is a federally qualified community health center located in south Los Angeles. Its main site, the Watts Health Center was founded in the late 1960s as a direct response to the Watts riots of 1965, helping to increase the community's access to quality healthcare services. In partnership with the Calvert Foundation, Capital Impact Partners refinanced a $4.3 million New Markets Tax Credit note to provide permanent financing to the center. The health center serves about 25,000 people each year and is the largest and most comprehensive community health center in a three mile radius.

Wilmington Community Clinic is a nearly 40 year old community health center serving south Los Angeles and greater Long Beach. This health center serves nearly 6000 patients annually and more than 20000 patient visits.  Through the Capital Impact managed California Primary Care Association Loan Program, a $275,000 loan was made to provide working capital to help the clinic stabilize operations during its transition to electronic health records while also allowing them to serve additional MediCal insured patients.

The Feed the Hunger Foundation received a $100,000 loan through Capital Impact's California FreshWorks Fund Food Enterprise Microloan Intermediary (FEMI) program. Through this program, capital is deployed to intermediaries who re-lend to small food enterprises. This loan will allow the San Francisco based nonprofit to lend to small food entrepreneurs in California's Central Valley and Central Coast, such as an organic berry and vegetable farm seeking to finance coolers in a delivery vehicle and a small Oaxacan restaurant that will be established within an existing corner store whose customer base consists largely of field workers.

About Capital Impact Partners: Capital Impact Partners transforms underserved communities into strong, vibrant places of opportunity for people at every stage of life. We deliver strategic financing, incubate new social programs and provide technical assistance 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 Partners has disbursed more $2 billion to revitalize communities over the last 30 years.  Headquartered in Arlington, VA, Capital Impact Partners operates nationally with local offices in Detroit, MI and Oakland, CA.  Read more at www.capitalimpact.org

SOURCE Capital Impact Partners