Florida Aquarium builds on ?flag in the ground?

A $5.9 million New Market Tax Credit transaction for the Florida Aquarium closed on June 28.

This included $3.7 million in existing aquarium funding and a $1.6 million investment from U.S. Bank (NYSE: USB), as well as funding from the Urban Development Fund, an affiliate of Chicago-based Aries Capital.

The amount is in an escrow account in the aquarium?s name, and the fund will last seven years.

The aquarium will request funds as needed for projects related to its Rising Tides Campaign, including a new education center, said Chief Financial Officer Kim Casey.

The aquarium will net a $1 million benefit from the $5.9 million, she said.

Congress established the New Markets Tax Credit Program in 2000 to encourage investment of private capital in low-income communities.

As the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported on July 1, the aquarium qualified for funding based on 2000 U.S. Census data.

Channelside once was, but no longer is considered a low-income community, Casey said.

?When the aquarium was built in 1995, we were here to drive economic development,? she said. ?That?s why we put the flag in the ground to begin with.?

Margaret Cashill's beats include technology, hospitality, retail and restaurants.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vertical_2/~3/ca1vNDqTVrA/florida-aquarium-builds-on-flag-in.html

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