Artists For Humanity EpiCenter headquarters / rendering by Behnisch Architects
Boston – MassDevelopment has provided a $10.9 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation to Artists For Humanity (AFH), a Boston nonprofit youth arts enterprise and one of the largest onsite employers of youth in the city.
AFH will use proceeds from the allocation to build a 27,871sf addition on its Artists For Humanity EpiCenter headquarters. The addition will allow AFH to double the number of teenage employees who provide fine art and creative services for businesses, institutions, and individuals from 250 to 500; develop pre-apprenticeship vocational programming in technology-based arts media and trades; build a fully equipped maker studio; form new partnerships with universities and industries; and hire more artists and social entrepreneurs to lead its programming.
The agency previously provided $2.8 million in tax-exempt bonds for AFH, which the organization used to build its EpiCenter in 2004.
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“Massachusetts’ creative economy contributes millions of dollars in revenue and countless jobs while attracting visitors from across the globe to experience the state’s wealth of cultural and historic assets,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Lauren Liss. “We are pleased to continue supporting this key sector while also bolstering the Commonwealth’s workforce development efforts through this financing of Artists For Humanity.”
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, through Banc of America CDE LLC, also provided a $5 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation and $5,332,860 in tax credit equity for this project.
