Cleveland Development Advisors (CDA), an affiliate of the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP), has provided a $5 million allocation of New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) to support the Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network, Inc. (MAGNET) as it develops its new headquarters building in Cleveland’s growing MidTown neighborhood. MAGNET is a Cleveland-based nonprofit whose mission is dedicated to driving innovation, growth, and workforce development for Northeast Ohio’s manufacturing economy.
The NMTC allocation provides critical capital to the project, which will renovate a vacant former Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) building to house MAGNET’s offices as well as a Manufacturing Innovation, Technology, and Job Center. The new headquarters building will feature a partnership with CMSD, which will occupy part of the building for deep dive manufacturing education. The total project cost for the 57,000 square foot development is $18.7 million.
In addition to its offices, MAGNET’s use of the building will include space for advanced manufacturing and startup companies, community meeting rooms, a computer lab for adult retraining in manufacturing, and exhibition space for robots, industrial 3D printers, and other manufacturing processes linked to careers in manufacturing. These additional uses will showcase manufacturing advances to area entrepreneurs and open the possibility of STEM careers for job seekers and youth.
The project continues the momentum of the MidTown neighborhood, which has seen major investments over the past decade, including, among others: the restoration of League Park and the addition of a museum; the new headquarters of The Cleveland Foundation; and a push to establish healthy anchors through a new Dave’s Supermarket and University Hospitals Women’s and Children’s healthcare facility (previous CDA NMTC funded projects).
CDA’s involvement in the project comes from the $50 million NMTC award it received in late 2021 from the U.S. Treasury Department. NMTCs were created by the federal government to attract private investment for catalytic projects that create positive economic impacts in Low Income Communities, such as workforce development, quality employment, and neighborhood revitalization. Over the history of the program, CDA has been awarded a total of $265 million in NMTCs.
Support of the MAGNET project meets the goals of the NMTC program and also advances CDA’s own strategic goals of supporting impactful projects to leverage funds and revitalize Cleveland’s core, enable business attraction and expansion, advance community initiatives, and meet neighborhood needs.
“NMTCs are a unique and highly effective tool to help close capital gaps for important developments like this,” said Yvette Ittu, President of CDA. “This project is a double win for Northeast Ohio’s economic development agenda, as it augments MAGNET’s ability to achieve it’s critical mission in supporting manufacturing, while also repurposing a vacant building and adding more energy to the growing MidTown neighborhood. CDA is pleased to support MAGNET through this allocation of NMTCs.”