Dakotas America, the primary recipient of New Markets Tax Credits in the Dakotas, has recently been instrumental in assisting two community projects which have significantly enhanced the quality of life and economies of their respective regions.

Citi Community Capital, the community development lending and investing arm of Citi, in partnership with Dakotas America, recently closed on a combined $24 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transaction that will finance the major rehabilitation and expansion of a K-8 public school in the Shannon County School District. Located near Rockyford, South Dakota, the school district encompasses the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

The new school building will provide space for an array of outreach programs such as sports, art, music, theater, language education and summer camps with the goal of improving the overall quality of education. In the past, dropout rates on the reservation have been reported to be as high as 70% for teens; one goal of the project is to reduce dropout rates through improved early education programs. A longer-term goal is to reduce exceedingly high unemployment rates-reported to be as high as 80% in some areas of the reservation.

Approximately 356 permanent full-time jobs will be maintained at the school district, in addition to the approximately 30 construction jobs needed to complete the project. Census data reflects a growing population of entry- level school children for the region. This new facility will provide space to accommodate up to 20 additional teachers. The transaction could not have been accomplished without the involvement and support of GROW South Dakota. This private non-profit corporation was established in 2007. Its mission is to create sustainable communities through investments for housing, educational and economic opportunities for the region. GROW established a subsidiary entity that will use the funds from the transaction to construct and own the new facility, and lease it to the school district for ongoing operating use.

Dakotas America has also finalized a $15 million NMTC transaction to provide new and improved space to Family Healthcare Center (FHC), a Fargo, North Dakota non-profit organization providing vital health and wellness services to an underserved population in North Dakota's largest city.

FHC provides medical, dental and pharmacy services to low-income and homeless persons in the Fargo-Moorhead region. Over the years, the organization has been housed in different locations, based upon funding availability and need. Currently, FHC operates out of three separate locations in Fargo, but an ideal site has been identified for the new health care center at 301-307 Northern Pacific Avenue, in downtown Fargo, ND.

Designs for the facility call for 33 medical exam rooms, seven dental operatories, new space for behavioral health practitioners, and rooms for community health programs, administrative offices and meeting areas. The project will represent a doubling of space from the existing space, in anticipation of a growing number of uninsured and Medicaid patients in the Fargo-Moorhead region.

Wells Fargo Community Lending and Investment partnered with Dakotas America on this important project for the Fargo area.

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