From 2005-2011, Mount Hope partnered with the National Development Council, Deutsche Bank, Citibank and the New York City Economic Development Council, to build from razed, drug-infested, vacant lots in the South Bronx, the ultramodern 44,000sqft. Mount Hope Community Center, equipped with two green roofs, rainwater harvesting, and NYSERTA-certified energy-saving features.  The Mount Hope Community Center is the first project on the East Coast of the United States to utilize New Markets Tax Credit as a source to inject equity to develop a commercial project. This model has and continues to be used across the nation as a viable tool to inject value in community and commercial developments.

The Mount Hope Community Center at 55 East 175th Street, Bronx, NY is a 44,000 SF five-story $16M state of the arts facility equipped with energy-efficient LEED-certified, heating, cooling, lighting, and roofing systems.  The Center boasts of 4 green roofs that capture and recycle rainwater, and its efficiency rating met NYSERTA’s guidelines for a grant reimbursing in part the cost of the utilized energy-saving measures.  The Center was the first project in New York State to successfully use New Market Tax Credit as a financing tool to raise nearly $4 million in additional equity.  It was developed for the Mount Hope Housing Co., Inc., which advanced nearly $10 Million in equity and is currently being used by the Nonprofit to house its various programs, including G.E.D., ESL, financial literacy, and job training.  The credits were purchased by Citibank and Deutsche Bank for a $5.2M equity raise, and the National Development Council served as the syndicator.  In May 2016, the two equity investors successfully exited the project, and the underlying loan was assigned to the Sponsor.