Columbia and Carolina First Bank innovate new money
By John Temple Ligon Temple@TheColumbiaStar.com

The combination of economic development and "New Market Tax Credits" is manifest at the $5 million Celia Saxon Shopping Center on Harden Street, thanks to financial management by Grant Business Strategies and Carolina First Community Development Corporation.

Presenting to Columbia City Council, Wednesday morning, November 19, Tony Grant and Carolina First's Charles Chamberlain explained the creative financing for the new retail center on Harden Street across from Andrews Motors.

A few months ago, Mayor Coble met with Chamberlain and was told of the recent $100 million allocation Carolina First Bank received from the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, U.S. Dept. of the Treasury. CDFI has granted over 294 awards nationally totalling more than $16 billion.

Targeting three main courses for action, Carolina First Bank will partner with the S.C. Department of Commerce and local Community Development Finance Institutions to (1) recruit industry to the state, (2) rehabilitate real estate in blighted communities, and (3) provide loans to disadvantaged small businesses.

According to Grant, Carolina First Bank worked with Councilman Cromartie, Columbia Housing Authority Development Inc., the city's Office of Business Opportunities, and Grant Business Strategies in providing $5,000,000 in New Market Tax Credits to finance the Celia Saxon Shopping Center.

Other similar projects are expected before council in the near future. Besides Carolina First Bank, the primary recipients of New Market Tax Credit allocations in S.C. are Bank of America and Wachovia. Including Carolina First Bank's $100 million, the October 2008 NMTC allocations for S.C. total $340 million.

The City of Greenville formed a Community Development Entity (CDE) and applied for and received $89 million in NMTCs for economic development projects. As Grant put it, "Columbia can do the same."