In this issue:

- How NMTCs Benefit Real Estate Community Development Initiatives

- Noteworthy Real Estate Deals

- What’s Your Priority? An Open-Ended Examination of Pennsylvania’s Mechanics’ Lien Law

- Preferred Equity Investments and Mortgage Lending: Issues for Lenders and Borrowers

- NJ Townships Possess Broad Zoning Powers to Preserve Environmentally Sensitive Land

- California Legislative Update

- An excerpt from How NMTCs Benefit Real Estate Community Development Initiatives:

Federal and State Programs

- The New Markets Tax Credit (“NMTC”) program was enacted by Congress as part of the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000. The program, under Section 45D of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), is intended to spur investment in lowincome communities, with the hope that jobs would be created and lives would be improved in such communities. A number of states have enacted similar programs, which are often “twinned” with the federal program. Although the states’ interest in applying credits is expanding, the programs differ among the states and often have stricter requirements than the federal program.

Since its inception, the Community Development Financial Institutions (“CDFI”) Fund has made 836 allocation awards allocating $40 billion in tax credit authority through a competitive application process. The expectation is that the program will be renewed before the end of 2015 for a minimum of two years, if not permanently.