SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. Bank will provide $2.5 million of New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) equity to help El Sol Science and Arts Academy in Santa Ana to construct a new dual-immersion charter school building nestled in one of the largest Spanish-speaking communities in Southern California. The school will continue to operate during construction, rotating classrooms during each phase of development until the new 12-classroom building is complete in fall 2013.
U.S. Bank made the investment through its community investment subsidiary, U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, partnering with LA Charter School New Markets CDE LLC, a subsidiary of ExED, NCB Capital Impact and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), on the financing. ExED is a leading nonprofit provider of charter school management services in Southern California.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for El Sol to expand its impact in the Santa Ana community,” said Maria Bustria-Glickman, vice president for U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation. “With new, more modern and durable classrooms, El Sol will be able to cultivate lifelong learners more effectively. We’re proud to partner with El Sol and other valued community development leaders to help make this project a reality.”
El Sol first opened its doors to Santa Ana residents in September 2001 with approximately 110 kindergarten and first-grade students. El Sol currently provides academic programming to more than 830 preschool through eighth-grade students. Located in a community in which 75 percent of city residents speak Spanish and 15 percent of residents speak no English at all, El Sol offers an intellectually rich curriculum that promotes bilingualism and bi-literacy in English and Spanish.
“Given the rapidly globalizing market, it’s imperative that we can help as many area youth graduate with the academic, social, and linguistic skills needed to compete in the workplace,” said Monique Daviss, executive director of El Sol. “With the access to New Markets Tax Credit financing, we’ll be able to deliver a smarter use plan for the limited space we have available on campus, which means we can dedicate more resources to preparing our students to becoming future leaders.”
In its short history, El Sol has become one of the top-two performing schools in Santa Ana. Nationally, the Center for American Progress in Washington DC has listed El Sol as one of the four best schools in the nation serving a predominantly Latino population.
“As a pioneer in facility financing for charter schools, ExED is delighted to work with partners like U.S. Bank, NCB Capital Impact and LISC to ensure that students have access to high-quality, learning-friendly environments,” said Anita Landecker, Executive Director of ExED. “ExED has provided business support services to El Sol Science and Arts Academy since it first opened, so we are especially gratified to support the growth of this outstanding school.”
About ExED
ExED is a premiere nonprofit provider of business
and management services to charter schools in Southern California. Since
its founding in 1998, ExED has served more than 100 schools and received
$146 million in New Markets Tax Credits to finance charter school
facilities throughout the region. By acting as a full-service “CFO,”
ExED creates efficiencies and sound business practices that enable
school leaders to direct more resources and energy to the classroom. For
more information, visit www.exed.net.
About Local Initiatives Support Corporation
As a national
Community Development Financial Institution with a community focus, the
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is dedicated to helping
community residents transform distressed neighborhoods into healthy and
sustainable communities of choice and opportunity — good places to work,
do business and raise children. LISC mobilizes corporate, government and
philanthropic support to provide local community development
organizations with: loans, grants and equity investments; local,
statewide and national policy support; and technical and management
assistance. Since 1980, LISC has invested $12.9 billion which has
leveraged $38.3 billion in total development creating 303,500 affordable
homes and apartments, 49.4 million square feet of retail and community
space, 180 schools financed for 72,000 students, 184 child care
facilities supported for 19,700 children, and 269 playing fields
renovated for green and recreational space. LISC program staff are based
in every city and many of the rural areas where LISC-supported community
development takes shape. In collaboration with local community
development groups, LISC staff help identify priorities and challenges,
delivering the most appropriate support to meet local needs.
About NCB Capital Impact
NCB Capital Impact helps people and
communities reach their highest potential at every stage of life. As a
non-profit and certified community development financial institution
with a national presence, Capital Impact provides financial services and
technical assistance to help make high-quality housing, health care,
healthy foods, and education more accessible and attainable, and
eldercare more dignified and respectful. Capital Impact has used its
depth of experience, cooperative approach, and diverse network of
alliances to generate over $1.825 billion in critical investments that
create a high quality of life for low income people and communities. www.ncbcapitalimpact.org
About New Markets Tax Credit Financing
New Markets Tax
Credits (NMTC) were established by Congress in 2000 to encourage the
investment of private capital in designated low-income communities in
order to create jobs, generate economic activity and improve the quality
of services in low-income communities and to low-income persons. NMTCs
attract investment capital to low-income communities by permitting
individual and corporate investors to receive a tax credit against their
federal income tax return in exchange for making qualified equity
investments in specialized financial institutions called Community
Development Entities (CDEs). In turn, CDEs provide below-market
financing to transformative development projects in low-income
communities across the country. The credit totals 39 percent of the
original investment amount and is claimed over a period of seven years.
For more information, visit www.cdfifund.gov.
About U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation
U.S.
Bancorp Community Development Corporation, a subsidiary of U.S. Bank,
has invested more than $10.9 billion of tax credit equity in community
development projects across the country as of March 31, 2013, using
state and federally sponsored tax credit programs. USBCDC's commitments
provide capital investment to areas that need it the most and have
contributed to the creation of new jobs, the rehabilitation of historic
buildings, the construction of needed affordable and market-rate homes,
the development of renewable energy facilities, and the generation of
commercial economic activity in underserved communities. Visit USBCDC on
the web at www.usbank.com/cdc.
About U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), with $355
billion in assets as of March 31, 2013, is the parent company of U.S.
Bank, the 5th largest commercial bank in the United States. The company
operates 3,080 banking offices in 25 states and 5,056 ATMs and provides
a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment,
mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses
and institutions. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at www.usbank.com.
