A New Era at MassDevelopment
At its April 14 meeting, the MassDevelopment Board of Directors unanimously chose Marty Jones as the Agency's new President and CEO. Jones, previously the president of Boston building, development, and property management company Corcoran Jennison, has spent decades in the real-estate industry. She got her start at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in both the Washington and Boston offices.

At Corcoran Jennison, Jones managed staff and project teams for new development projects that transformed communities, directed asset management for multifamily portfolios, chaired a joint venture between Corcoran Jennison and Beacon Communities, and directed all aspects of the Westminster Company, a 175-employee operation with 66 properties and 5,000 apartment units in North and South Carolina.

Jones graduated from Brown University and resides in Winchester.

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NEW PROGRAM OFFERINGS

New Round of Cultural Facilities Funding

Nonprofit cultural organizations hoping to participate in a new round of capital grants from the Cultural Facilities Fund must submit their applications by June 3. MassDevelopment administers the Fund with the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Guidelines for applications are posted at www.massculturalfacilities.org. The Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund has awarded 224 grants since 2006.

A Cultural Facilities Fund capital grant assisted the New Bedford Whaling Museum with the renovation of the Bourne Building, dedicated in 1916 and rededicated in 2010.

Increase in Dollars for Massachusetts Small Farms

MassDevelopment and The Carrot Project recently announced that the MassDevelopment/The Carrot Project Small Farm Loan Program raised the maximum loan amount for eligible Massachusetts farmers. Qualifying farmers can now receive amounts ranging from $3,000 to $35,000, up from the former ceiling of $15,000. The funds help farmers finance capital investments and meet operating costs. MassDevelopment and The Carrot Project jointly administer the program.

"This program fills a niche for farmers who could not access conventional financing," said Executive Vice President of Finance Programs Laura Canter. "As more Massachusetts residents seek out fresh and quality produce as part of an ever-growing movement toward eating healthy, local food, we hope these funds will help farmers meet demand for their products."

Two Massachusetts farms have received loans through the program: America Agro in Greenfield, which used funds to improve a basil greenhouse in Deerfield; and Souza Family Farm in Rehoboth, which used funds for lower-cost working capital covering operating expenses and renovating recently purchased property.

MassDevelopment Secures $21 Million in Federal Tax Credits Encouraging Private Investment in Distressed Communities

The U.S. Treasury Department has allocated $21 million of New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) to MassDevelopment, which will allow the Agency to leverage tax credit equity from investors, offering low-cost financing to businesses and nonprofits in eligible census tracts. MassDevelopment was one of 250 applicants competing for $3.5 billion in tax credit allocations. Of these applicants, 99 were successful nationwide, and MassDevelopment was one of only four recipients in Massachusetts.

MassDevelopment has received three prior NMTC allocations totalling $155 million. Since 2004, MassDevelopment has used its allocations to fund major redevelopment projects at Boston Medical Center, Lynn Community Health Center, and the Coalition for Buzzards Bay in New Bedford, and to create a $30 million, first-in-New-England New Markets Loan Fund that drew on capital from partnerships with Citizens and Sovereign Banks.

Quincy and Reading Economic Development Tour

Join MassDevelopment on Wednesday, June 8 beginning at 8:30 a.m. for a motor coach tour and briefing on former municipal landfills in Quincy and Reading that have been developed into upscale uses. The Granite Golf Club at Quarry Hills in Quincy was named to Golf Digest's prestigious listing of "100 Greatest Golf Courses in America." Walkers Brook Crossing in Reading is now a regional retail mecca anchored by Jordan's Furniture and Home Depot. For more information or to rsvp for the event, email scorbeil@massdevelopment.com.