June 22, 2018 The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing for the $6.1 million expansion of the Boys Hope Girls Hope (BHGH) campus in Garfield Heights has closed. Cleveland Development Advisors provided a $6 million NMTC allocation paired with Ohio NMTC
The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing for the $6.1 million expansion of the Boys Hope Girls Hope (BHGH) campus in Garfield Heights has closed. Cleveland Development Advisors, an affiliate of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, provided a $6 million NMTC allocation paired with Ohio NMTC and a $2.2 million loan from its Advance Cleveland Development Fund to bridge capital campaign pledges.
The main component of the project is construction of The Rajan Academy Center, which will bring the BHGH Academy Program under one roof and allow more than 200 Scholars to participate in an empowering home-like atmosphere fostering a sense of pride from middle school through high school. The Academy Center will include a two classrooms, art room, stem lab, college preparatory tutoring, study spaces, counseling areas, wellness/fitness room and open spaces for Scholars to develop holistically each day. In addition, renovation of the former Ss. Peter and Paul School gymnasium and kitchen will create countless opportunities for BHGH Scholars to access safe and healthy physical wellness activities.
“Boys Hope Girls Hope has proudly offered critical developmental opportunities to scores of young people from poverty for nearly 30-years because Northeast Ohioans have faithfully invested time, talent and treasure in the idea of making sure “hope” always had an address. CDA’s remarkable NMTC investment in the Rajan Academy Center project emboldened our efforts and catalyzed more than 30 individual and foundation gifts that have allowed us to achieve our vision of building a beacon of hope that will provide critical opportunities to hard-working young people for decades to come. “
About BHGH:
BHGH provides stability, support, and scholarship to bright and motivated children from challenging circumstances. Despite the fact that these scholars have faced some combination of economic poverty, severe family stress, neighborhood violence or other extraordinary circumstance, they maintain a courageous desire to make their goals a reality. BHGH’s time-tested Residential Program contends that the combination of a quality education, a safe and secure home, and a consistent routine will provide the young people we serve with the values and opportunities they need to realize and achieve their full potential. Boys Hope Girls Hope has also carried this philosophy into the community through their intensive non-residential Academy Program serving talented students from middle school through college and career launch. The Rajan Academy Center made possible through the NMTC financing will provide a substantial increase in BHGH’s capacity and depth of programming opportunities for resident and community Scholars, alike.