Lt. Governor Lawton Announces Tax Credits Seal Downtown Superior Office Project

$3.6 million award will complement earlier WHEDA-backed affordable housing investment

MADISON (August 10, 2005) - Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton today announced that a $3.6 million allocation of New Markets Tax Credits will help cover the nearly six million dollar total cost of redeveloping the former City of Superior government office building.

The new A&L Superior City Center (1409 Hammond Street) will complement an updated local government office complex that is already in operation.

"This tax credit award will help retain or create as many as 170 jobs in Superior and require 120 temporary construction jobs," Lt. Governor Lawton said. "The office building will also anchor further revitalization of downtown Superior. I am delighted that the State of Wisconsin plays a major role in supporting Superior's economic progress."

The New Markets Tax Credits are being awarded through the Wisconsin Community Development Legacy Fund, a consortium led by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA®). The investment comes from a $100 million federal tax credit allocation secured by the development fund.

Lt. Governor Lawton and WHEDA Executive Director Antonio Riley shared news of the A&L deal while speaking at a community event in downtown Superior today to celebrate the restoration of the nearby New York Building on Tower Avenue.

MetroPlains Development of St. Paul, Minn., is leading a project to restore the historic building while creating 24 units of affordable senior housing. That development received $3.4 million worth of another type of tax credits from WHEDA aimed at encouraging affordable rental housing.

"Thanks in large part to WHEDA's allocation, the New York Apartments will preserve a stately downtown building while providing quality, affordable housing for low-income seniors," Lt. Governor Lawton said.

The nearby A&L office building will be a three-story, 54,000 square-foot commercial development featuring retail space on the first floor, 34 underground heated parking spaces and on-site surface parking for 200 vehicles. Offices will be marketed to companies that have working relationships with the city.

Other parties in the A&L venture include the City of Superior, US Bank, and the owners, A&L Partnership and the Stender Family Group.

"Strong public-private partnerships are critical to the success of our Administration's 'Grow Wisconsin' economic development program," Lt. Governor Lawton said. "This allocation is a terrific example of the kind of progress we're making statewide."

WHEDA is an independent state authority that works with lenders to provide affordable financing across the state. The other partners in the tax credit development fund are Impact Seven, a nonprofit development agency, and Legacy Bancorp of Milwaukee.

Under the Doyle-Lawton Administration, WHEDA has led the efforts to create the fund and successfully secure the federal New Markets Tax Credits - the first time nationally that such credits were issued to a state economic development authority.

The credits provide targeted investments in distressed economic areas of Wisconsin, supporting otherwise unaffordable business expansion deals in urban and rural areas. The Administration estimates the fund will help create thousands of jobs across Wisconsin.