In collaboration with the city of Vancouver and the Port of Vancouver, Farwest Steel Corporation closed on a $38 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transaction this week, helping to finance a $48 million regional steel fabrication and processing center within the port.
According to city officials, this is the first NMTC financed project in Clark County, the largest single allocation to date in the Portland-Vancouver region and is expected to create or retain 228 family-wage jobs.
The New Markets Tax Credit program is a Federal tax incentive established by Congress in 2000 to spur investments into operating businesses and real estate projects located in low-income communities.
"Economic development tools such as the New Markets Tax Credits program are critical in times like these," said Port of Vancouver Executive Director Larry Paulson in a press release. "With Clark County's unemployment rate continuing to hover right around 13 percent, this program and the willingness of all parties to collaborate brought a major employer to the Port and more than 200 family-wage jobs to our community."
