We prioritize and invest in projects that will be leased to tenants who provide goods or services to low-income families or which have a significant economic development impact on a distressed community. This includes financing for facilities owned or operated by nonprofits, such as health centers, charter schools, childcare organizations, community centers, and arts organizations. These loans range from $100,000-$1,000,000.
Eligible uses for affordable housing and community facilities lending capital include:
An acquisition loan can be combined with a construction loan. An acquisition or construction loan sometimes includes a mini-permanent loan feature that carries a 3 to 5-year term. This product allows the project to move through the higher risk rehabilitation and rent-up phases to project stabilization, when CFE is typically taken out.
The District of Columbia International School (DCI) is a public charter middle and high school founded in 2014 by parents. The executive director, Mary Shaffner, is a mother of two who believes in a more dynamic approach to education. She founded DCI, along with 11 other parents, after encountering challenges with the District’s public school system.
Shaffner partnered with City First for a loan to move DCI to Delano Hall on the Walter Reed Campus, a new mixed-use community in Ward 4. DCI will grow to a larger space that facilitates a better learning environment.
Bread for the City, Inc. has outgrown its Southeast Center and now plans to develop a parking lot located across the street from the 9,500 square foot existing center into a new and expanded 30,000 square foot Southeast facility where it will be able to provide the full suite of services to its clients, including a brand new medical, dental, vision, and behavioral health clinic, a jobs center, expanded food and clothing distribution centers, social services offices, and a fitness center with locker rooms and showers. The project is being financed as part of a New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transaction.
This project will bring much needed access to medical and health services to the community in Ward 8.
Bread for the City, Inc. has outgrown its Southeast Center and now plans to develop a parking lot located across the street from the 9,500 square foot existing center into a new and expanded 30,000 square foot Southeast facility where it will be able to provide the full suite of services to its clients, including a brand new medical, dental, vision, and behavioral health clinic, a jobs center, expanded food and clothing distribution centers, social services offices, and a fitness center with locker rooms and showers. The project is being financed as part of a New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transaction.
This project will bring much needed access to medical and health services to the community in Ward 8.
CFE provided $587,000 in leasehold improvement financing for renovation of the school’s new facility. CFE will participate with CFB in a unitranche structure, in which the CFE debt is subordinate to CFB debt. Breakthrough Montessori Public Charter School opened its doors in the 2016-2017 academic year for pre-kindergarten. In its second year of operations, it added kindergarten, serving 135 students from mixed racial and economic backgrounds. The school will add 1st grade in its third year, for the 2018-2019 academic year, with a goal of enrolling 180 students. The school began operations at 1244 Taylor Street, NW, in Ward 4, via a sublease with Bridges Public Charter School, which expires in 2021. Earlier this year, Breakthrough entered into a 25-year lease for a permanent site located at 6856 Eastern Avenue, NW, also in Ward 4, in the Takoma neighborhood of northwest DC. The building needs major renovations, for which the school is pursuing the subject financing. The renovations are already underway and are on track to be completed in time for the upcoming school year.
CFE provided $587,000 in leasehold improvement financing for renovation of the school’s new facility. CFE will participate with CFB in a unitranche structure, in which the CFE debt is subordinate to CFB debt. Breakthrough Montessori Public Charter School opened its doors in the 2016-2017 academic year for pre-kindergarten. In its second year of operations, it added kindergarten, serving 135 students from mixed racial and economic backgrounds. The school will add 1st grade in its third year, for the 2018-2019 academic year, with a goal of enrolling 180 students. The school began operations at 1244 Taylor Street, NW, in Ward 4, via a sublease with Bridges Public Charter School, which expires in 2021. Earlier this year, Breakthrough entered into a 25-year lease for a permanent site located at 6856 Eastern Avenue, NW, also in Ward 4, in the Takoma neighborhood of northwest DC. The building needs major renovations, for which the school is pursuing the subject financing. The renovations are already underway and are on track to be completed in time for the upcoming school year.
City First Enterprises is a mission-driven institution working at the intersection of financial innovation and impact investment. To help mitigate economic and racial inequity, CFE capital is put to use by supporting affordable housing, small businesses, increasing access to community facilities for the arts, health, education, and other social services, and to support sustainable living through green energy.
For information on investing: partnerships@cfenterprises.org
For media inquiries: comms@cfenterprises.org
CFE is an equal opportunity provider.