Columbia can use federal new market tax credits to build in “distressed” (read: low income) areas. But how many distressed areas does Columbia have? More than you think.Â
A few weeks ago, I wrote a story about the Celia Saxon shopping center
and how it was built with federal new market tax credits. Local governments can use these tax credits to convince timid developers to build in low-income areas. Let’s say the city wants a developer to put a shopping center next to a public housing project. The bank will loan $5 million to the developer. But because of the tax credits, the bank saves $1.5 million. That means instead of having to pay back the full $5 million, the developer only has to pay back $3.5 million. The developer gets a deal, the bank gets its money, everybody wins. The only catch is the tax credits can only be used in “distressed” census areas. That got me thinking, how many distressed census tracts does Columbia have?
The answer: a lot. In this map, the purple areas represent distressed census tracks. For a statewide view, click here.
But according to Charles Chamberlain, executive vice president for the Carolina First Community Bank Corporation, a chunk of Columbia’s distressed census tracks could disappear with the 2010 census — especially in the Vista, which has had a lot of development this decade. That could limit how the city could use the tax credits in the next decade.
Adam Beam covers the City of Columbia for
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[...] The Columbia Food Fresh Market opened last month in the Celia Saxon neighborhood, which is owned by the Columbia Housing Authority. The fresh market was built by Columbia Housing Authority Developments, which is an arm of the Columbia Housing Authority. The grocery store was paid for in part by new market tax credits, which you can read about here. [...]