SB Friedman managed the closing of a $29.25 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing supporting the construction of a new, approximately 108,200 SF food warehouse and distribution center for Coastal Bend Food Bank (CBFB), a nonprofit providing emergency food assistance across an eleven-county service area in South Texas.
The project will significantly increase the organization’s food storage space and add new dedicated volunteer space, a drive through pick-up area, a demonstration kitchen, nutrition services space, and a community garden. The new facility, which is designed to withstand hurricane winds and serve as an emergency response center in the event of natural disaster, will allow CBFB to distribute 19 million pounds of food annually by 2028, a 43% increase over 2020 levels.
SB Friedman helped CBFB maximize the NMTC benefit for its critically needed project by:
- Assembling a total of $29.25 million of NMTC allocation from four Community Development Entities (CDEs), including allocation from the NMTC Investor, two national CDEs, and one Texas-based CDE;
- Coordinating an in-person site visit for the CDEs to showcase need, project highlights and impacts, and local community support;
- Securing top-of-market NMTC equity pricing and other deal terms;
- Structuring bridge financing, budget, and closing timeline to minimize interest costs; and
- Leading the closing process and coordination with the four NMTC parties to ensure target closing timeline was achieved.
Results: In partnership with SB Friedman, CBFB succesfully closed on NMTC financing — only the second NMTC transaction ever in Corpus Christi. The subsidy generated from NMTC was essential to filling a large funding gap. Construction of the project commenced in Spring 2022 and will be completed in Summer 2023.