DETROIT — Invest Detroit has been awarded a $55 million allocation through the federal New Markets Tax Credit program, part of a record-setting $10 billion national allocation announced Dec. 23 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It is the largest NMTC award in Invest Detroit’s history and underscores Michigan’s growing role in deploying federal capital to drive equitable economic growth.

The allocation was made by the Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, which administers the NMTC program to attract private-sector investment into economically distressed communities. Investors receive federal tax credits in exchange for financing qualified real estate and operating business projects that create jobs, modernize facilities, and expand access to essential services.

“We are thrilled to receive another New Markets Tax Credit award,” said Dave Blaszkiewicz, president and CEO of Invest Detroit. “NMTC has a proven track record of attracting private capital and driving equitable growth. Making the program permanent gives communities like Detroit the certainty needed to plan, invest, and deliver lasting impact at scale.”

A federal program designed to unlock private capital

Established in 2003, the NMTC program was created to address a persistent market failure: the lack of affordable financing in low-income and disinvested communities. By lowering risk for investors, NMTCs help projects move forward that would otherwise stall due to high costs, thin margins, or limited access to traditional bank financing.

The results have been significant. Since inception, the CDFI Fund has issued 1,809 NMTC awards totaling $81 billion nationwide, generating more than $8 in private investment for every $1 of federal support. In Michigan alone, the program has backed 156 projects with more than $1.8 billion in NMTC investment, supporting manufacturing, healthcare, education, housing-adjacent commercial development, and small businesses.

In a major policy shift welcomed by developers and lenders, Congress made the NMTC program permanent in July 2025 through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, ending years of short-term extensions and giving communities long-term certainty to plan complex projects.

Invest Detroit’s expanding impact

This marks Invest Detroit’s seventh NMTC allocation since 2009, bringing its cumulative total to more than $263 million. To date, the organization has deployed NMTC financing to 25 projects across Detroit, helping create more than 3,600 jobs while supporting minority developers, entrepreneurs, historic building reuse, and accessible manufacturing facilities.

“New Markets Tax Credits make it possible to bring meaningful development to Detroit neighborhoods that otherwise would not be feasible,” said Marcia Ventura, senior vice president of Lending at Invest Detroit. “These investments create jobs, strengthen local businesses, and bring critical resources closer to residents.”

The new allocation will allow Invest Detroit to finance additional projects similar to recent NMTC-backed developments, including:

  • Anchor Detroit (Life Remodeled) — A $6 million NMTC investment transforming a former school campus on Detroit’s east side into a community innovation hub offering youth programming, workforce development, health and wellness services, and arts and culture resources. The project is expected to serve more than 20,000 residents annually and anchor revitalization along the Whittier Corridor.

  • METD Detroit / Laepple Automotive — A $7.5 million NMTC allocation supporting the reactivation of a former Stellantis tool-and-die facility idle since 2019. The project will establish Laepple’s U.S. headquarters, create 173 jobs, and provide space for additional advanced manufacturing tenants, reinforcing Detroit’s industrial base.

A broader Michigan ecosystem of NMTC lenders

Invest Detroit was one of several Michigan-active community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to receive NMTC allocations in this historic round, highlighting the depth of the state’s development finance ecosystem.

  • Cinnaire plays a major role in financing mixed-use developments, healthcare facilities, childcare centers, and minority-owned businesses across Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and rural communities. Cinnaire is known for blending NMTCs with housing tax credits and state incentives to support projects with complex capital needs.

  • IFF, with a strong Michigan presence, focuses on facilities financing for nonprofits and mission-driven organizations, including schools, health clinics, food access projects, and workforce training centers. Its NMTC investments often help organizations transition from leasing to ownership, strengthening long-term neighborhood stability.

  • LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) operates one of its flagship programs in Detroit, using NMTCs to support commercial corridor redevelopment, mixed-use neighborhood hubs, and small-business growth tied to broader placemaking strategies.

  • Capital Impact Partners, headquartered in Detroit, deploys NMTCs nationally with a strong Midwest focus, financing community health centers, food co-ops, affordable housing–linked commercial spaces, and large-scale neighborhood anchors.

  • CHS supports housing-adjacent economic development, including community service hubs and mixed-use projects that stabilize neighborhoods experiencing long-term disinvestment.

  • Enterprise brings national expertise in blending NMTCs with housing finance to support community facilities such as childcare centers, healthcare clinics, workforce training sites, and neighborhood retail embedded within housing developments.

Together, these organizations form a pipeline that de-risks private investment, supports advanced manufacturing reuse, expands healthcare and childcare access, and strengthens commercial corridors that anchor local economies.

For Michigan’s business community, the permanent NMTC program signals more predictable deal flow, larger redevelopment opportunities, and expanding public-private partnerships that align economic returns with long-term community growth.