The Heartland Regional Investment Fund, LLC (“HRIF”) is a certified Community Development Entity, created by the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership (the “Partnership”), the Southwestern Illinois Development Authority, and the City of St. Charles, Missouri.
HRIF has received over $150 million in New Market Tax Credit (“NMTC”) allocation authority from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (the “CDFI”) of the U.S. Department of Treasury to stimulate investment and job creation in the St. Louis region – specifically, St. Louis County and the City of St. Charles in Missouri; and Madison, St. Clair, Clinton, and Bond counties in Illinois. HRIF has 40 certified sub-CDEs, sixteen (16) of which have been used to fund previous qualifying projects.
On September 19, 2024, HRIF was awarded $30 million in NMTC allocation authority from the CDFI’s 2023 Round (the “2023 Award”). As its portfolio grows, HRIF seeks assistance to administer its active sub-CDEs, deploy its 2023 Award, and manage its ongoing NMTC compliance.
HRIF issues this Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for one or more qualified legal professional services firms to provide ongoing advice and legal counsel as needed in connection with current and future NMTC projects (the “Services”), including, but not limited to, drafting and reviewing documents at all project stages, assisting with compliance matters, and drafting and reviewing related corporate governance documents. It is anticipated that HRIF will identify a short list of qualified firms to provide the Services on an as needed basis.
About the NMTC Program
The NMTC Program, established by Congress in December 2000, permits individual and corporate taxpayers to receive a non-refundable tax credit against federal income taxes for making equity investments in financial intermediaries known as Community Development Entities (“CDEs”). CDEs, like HRIF, that receive tax credit allocation authority under the program are domestic corporations or partnerships that provide loans, investments, or financial counseling within low-income urban and rural communities. The tax credit provided to the investor totals 39% of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period. The CDEs in turn use the capital raised to make investments in low-income communities. CDEs must apply annually to the CDFI Fund to compete for NMTC Program allocation authority. Since the inception of the NMTC Program, the CDFI Fund has completed 20allocation rounds and has made 1,667 awards totaling $81 billion in tax allocation authority. This includes $3 billion in Recovery Act Awards and $1 billion of special allocation authority used for the recovery and redevelopment of the Gulf Opportunity Zone.
Proposals Due By:
November 15, 2024, at 3:00 PM
Heartland Regional Investment Fund
c/o St. Louis Economic Development Partnership
ATTN: Erika Castillo
120 S. Central Ave., Suite 200
St. Louis, Missouri 63105
(314) 615-7663
[email protected]