Financing secured, construction begins for North Port Boys & Girls Club
Boys & Girls Clubs would make below-market interest payments for seven years, after which up to $1.7 million of the loan could be forgiven under the New Market Tax Credit Program.
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NORTH PORT – Construction on the new Boys & Girls Club in North Port could begin as early as late fall after local advocates helped the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto counties obtain a unique type of loan to bridge the gap between funds raised from local donors and the expected $9 million cost.
The final piece of the puzzle, a below-market rate loan from the federal New Market Tax Credits Program – of which $1.7 million is eligible for forgiveness – was announced late last month.
The next key date for the project is July 11, when Boys & Girls Club leaders will learn more about the allocation process for the $4 million Resilient SRQ grant they received from Sarasota County in May.
Bill Sadlo, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties, said the project includes renovating the gymnasium, which was the only usable building after Hurricane Ian hit in September 2022.
Why does North Port need a new Boys & Girls Club?
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto counties had already been considering modernizing the North Port club, which opened in 1997 in the Scout House in Dallas White Park and later moved to the former campus of the South Biscayne Baptist Church at 6851 South Biscayne Dr. The pandemic halted fundraising, and then Hurricane Ian destroyed two of the three buildings.
About 250 children attended the Gene Matthews Boys & Girls Club. Many of those families still attend the club, which operates out of the gymnasium and two portable buildings.
“This summer is challenging because we have 240 children enrolled in North Port and we are on-site due to the building restrictions we have,” Sadlo said.
How did the North Port Boys & Girls Club get its funding?
In May 2023, before Gene Matthews’ death in August of that year, the opening of a new 1,300 square meter club was announced.
The new facility will be named the Steven and Marjolaine Townsend Campus for the Gene Matthews Boys & Girls Club in North Port, in honor of Matthews and board member Steven Townsend, who initiated the initial fundraising effort with a $1 million donation.
CoolToday’s Jamie and Julie Di Domenico then followed up with a half-million-dollar donation, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation pledged $1 million, and the Atlanta Braves made a significant but unspecified donation, leading to a ceremonial groundbreaking in March during spring training.
Combined with other donations, the $4 million Resilient SRQ grant from the $201.5 million Community Development Block Grant awarded for Hurricane Ian reconstruction efforts, and the New Market Tax Credits loan, construction can begin.
What is the New Market Tax Credit Program?
The program was launched in 2000 by the U.S. Treasury Department in cooperation with the IRS.
“It offers tax credits to investors, to lenders who agree to make loans to underserved communities, to qualified organizations like the Boys & Girls Club,” said attorney Mike Pitchford, a partner at Shumaker, Loop and Kendrick in Sarasota who wrote an expert opinion on the loan’s viability. “The loans they make are well below market value because the investors get tax credits.”
“It’s a benefit for the investors, it’s a benefit for the community and the Boys & Girls Club,” he added.
The federal tax credit program is similar to the Affordable Housing and Workforce Housing Subsidies program.
Funds for the loan are provided by the Florida Community Loan Fund and Truist Financial.
Pitchford reviewed the extensive and complex loan documents and worked with several advisors and three law firms based in Chicago, St. Louis and Boston, representing all seven parties involved.
The club will make interest-only payments on the loan for seven years, after which up to $1.7 million of the remaining balance may be forgiven.
Pitchford became involved through his partner Meghan O. Serrano, a board member of the Boys & Girls Club who was also involved in the loan process.
“The damage from Hurricane Ian was enormous, but we knew the Boys & Girls Club was right where it needed to serve the community, so we had to rebuild,” Serrano said in a prepared statement. “We were initially unsure how we would accomplish that.
“However, after thoroughly investigating the New Markets Tax Credit, we realized it was a unique and complex opportunity that we needed to capitalize on.”
What happens next in the construction process?
Sadlo said after meeting with Sarasota County on July 11 regarding Resilient SRQ funding, the club will be able to put the project out to bid and select a general contractor, which is also part of the process to access the $4 million block grant.
The aim is to start construction in early autumn.
Donations are still needed and there are still opportunities to name North Port, Sadlo noted.
To learn more or to contribute, visit https://bgcsdc.org/.
Additionally, the nonprofit should be able to begin construction this fall on the new youth center for the Louis and Gloria Flanzer Club on the Arcadia Smith Brown Campus in DeSoto County, which will open in October 2023.
There, the original club building will be converted into the Malcolm Family Teen Center, named after Kirk and Rae Malcolm.
Approval has been granted and renovation work should begin in the fall, Sadlo said.
The next major project coming up for the Boys & Girls Clubs is a modernization and possible replacement of the Roy McBean Club campus in Newtown, and New Market Tax Credits are being considered for this.
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