Alaska Growth Capital brings funding to Alaska: federal program trades tax credits for community investments.

• Author: Stapleton, Rob
• Position: FINANCIAL SERVICES

Hugh Short, president and chief executive officer of Alaska Growth Capital, directed his team to implement New Market Tax Credits so the Maniilaq Elder Home can open on time, utilizing an argument that the facility will serve elders from villages qualifying as Census poverty districts.

A federal program that trades tax credits for community investments in low-income and poverty areas is soon to help Alaska Native elders live the last days of their lives with quality care.

Alaska Growth Capital BIDCO Inc.--a subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corp.--seized the opportunity to use a new federal program to assist the Maniilaq Association to secure a much needed portion of the funding for the 18-bed Maniilaq Association Nursing Home in Kotzebue.

"The beauty of this project is that outside-of-Alaska funding will help Inupiat elders who in the past had to be moved to Anchorage or Fairbanks long-term advanced care facilities, can now live close to their families in their region," said Maniilaq President Ian Erlich.

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Alaska Growth Capital combined the need by the Maniilaq Association, a nonprofit corporation, along with the State of Alaska, Dudley Ventures LLC and New York Community Bank to secure $18.9 million.

Maniilaq is a nonprofit with 550 employees that serves all of the Northwest of Alaska, including the village of Point Hope. The association also represents a dozen federally recognized tribes in Northwest Alaska by providing health and social services, tribal services and human resources to rural residents there.

Hugh Short, president and chief executive officer of Alaska Growth Capital, says the new program is important for rural Alaska.

"This is a significant source of funding that brings Lower 48 investment dollars into rural Alaska communities and gives tax and investment credits to the investor, it's a win-win program," Short said. "Basically, it takes money from Wall Street and brings it to Main Street ... Kotzebue, Bethel or even Anchorage."

Short is responsible for masterminding obtaining the ability for Alaska Growth Capital to administer credits from the New Market Tax Credits and has been eager to use the program to aid Alaskans.

The $24 million 14,340-square-foot project, an addition to the Maniilaq Health Center, received partial funding from the State of Alaska, which helped with the construction of the facility. The use of the New Market Tax Credits financing will aid the organization's startup and first-year expenses.

"The financing facilitated by Alaska Growth Capital was easy, fast and will help us provide the first year of health care costs to extended care patients, Erlich said. "Due to the process of getting reimbursement from...