MassDevelopment.com: Press Room: MassDevelopment, Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp. Announce Financing for Worcester's Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts

MassDevelopment, Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp. Announce Financing for Worcester's Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts
Project Will Result in 35 New Jobs
September 26, 2007

Contacts:
Alicia Tildsley, MassDevelopment, 617-603-3120
Deb Favreau, MHIC, 617-850-1037

MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation (MHIC) today announced two separate financing packages for the Worcester Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. (WCPA), a nonprofit group working to redevelop the former Loews Poli Palace Theater in downtown Worcester. MHIC provided a $14.3 million financing package made possible by federal New Market Tax Credits and historic tax credits. MHIC partnered with three other community development-related financial institutions – Coastal Enterprises of Maine, and the Non-Profit Finance Fund and CitiCorp USA, both of New York – that together provided another $15.85 million in New Market Tax Credit financing. The Non-Profit Finance Fund also participated in one-half of a $2,700,000 bridge loan provided directly to WCPA by MassDevelopment towards a $30 million projected total project cost.

In a separate transaction, MassDevelopment provided $1,000,000 toward a $4,000,000 construction loan provided by the Commonwealth National Bank of Worcester. Another important component of the financing package was the sale of $4.65 million in Massachusetts state historic tax credits to National Grid and Boston Private Bank. WCPA officials estimate the creation of 35 jobs when the project is finished in March 2008, and expect further community benefits such as increased economic activity in downtown Worcester and performance programs for at-risk youth. The new facility will be named the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts.

"We are pleased to support the renovation and restoration of this historic building," said Robert L. Culver, MassDevelopment president/CEO. "The new Hanover Theatre is an important element of a multi-faceted collaborative plan to revitalize downtown Worcester. The theatre will help stimulate economic growth in the region by attracting tourists, generating revenue and creating jobs."

Opened in 1926, the Poli Palace was constructed on the site of the former Federal Square Theater on Southbridge Street. National Amusements (Showcase Cinemas) purchased the facility in 1967 and then closed the theater in 1998 after building a new 16-screen megaplex across town. Worcester Center for Performing Arts, Inc., a nonprofit organization comprised of local residents, purchased the theater and developed renovation plans in 2002. The site will soon house a 2,300-seat performing arts venue featuring Broadway shows, concerts, comedy acts and other special events. The theatre will also host performing arts programs, including educational outreach opportunities, workshops and classes. WCPA officials expect to reach an audience of more than 170,000 patrons per year.

"The structure of financing for this project is a prototype for similar projects around the country. It demonstrates precisely what can be done with New Markets Tax Credits and historic tax credits," said Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation President and CEO Joseph L. Flatley. "Surely, this theater will give a major boost to Worcester’s revitalization efforts."

The project team includes the development consultant Worcester Business Development Corporation, architect Lamoureaux Pagano Associates of Worcester and contractor Barr & Barr.

The Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation is a private lender and investor that specializes in financing affordable housing and community development in Massachusetts. Since its founding in 1990, MHIC has provided nearly $1.1 billion to finance the creation or preservation of more than 12,000 housing units and over 600,000 square feet of commercial space. MHIC is a leading provider of New Markets Tax Credit financing in Massachusetts.

Worcester Center for Performing Arts is organized under MGL Chap. 180 as a non-profit corporation, qualified for tax exempt status under IRC Sec. 501 (c)3. The board of directors of WCPA is made up of Worcester area residents, including business owners, lawyers, and members of cultural and other non-profit organizations. For more information about WCPA, contact Troy Siebels, executive director at 508-770-0101, or visit the theatre Web site: www.thehanovertheatre.org.

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development authority, works with businesses, financial institutions and local officials to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. From FY 2004 through FY 2007, MassDevelopment financed or managed 796 projects statewide representing the investment of more than $6.5 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are supporting the creation of 6,793 new housing units and over 39,000 jobs: 16,396 permanent and 22,619 construction-related.