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Capital Trust Agency, Gulf Breeze Financial Services, and Capital Trust Agency Community Development Entity have been acting as efficient conduits to access affordable capital for qualified projects since 1985.
Formed in 1999, the Capital Trust Agency (CTA) was created out of a need for responsive and innovative financing for various purposes that qualify under the rules of the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt financing. Affordable housing projects, airport facilities, hotel and convention developments promoting tourism, healthcare projects, and K-12 educational buildings, are among the allowable projects that have been able to use CTA to efficiently access the capital markets – and since its formation CTA has financed about $4 billion of these borrowings.
CTA’s success in closing financings starts with an openness to work with nationally recognized investment banking and legal firms that approach the agency with worthwhile uses of tax-exempt bond proceeds.
The agency has been fortunate to have well regarded and mission driven organizations apply for conduit assistance resulting in blighted housing projects becoming desirable residences to allow low-income individuals to house their families in safe environments. Bringing additional community benefits such as after school care and other beneficial programs to these areas sponsored by mission driven borrowers, CTA has helped to remove some of the stigma associated with low-income housing. With over 48 properties, CTA has financed 10,377 units of affordable housing, representing tens of thousands of people affected by this program in a positive way. Affordable housing is not the only sector of CTA’s financing activities, but one that does have numerous success stories.
Apart from its financing activities, CTA is also dedicated to helping disadvantaged students and opening a pathway to improve their chances of success in life by investing in needs-based scholarship programs. To date, CTA has invested over $650,000 in various scholarship programs, most notably the Take Stock in Children program that not only offers a scholarship opportunity but provides a mentor to guide children along the way. Through the leverage of the state of Florida matching contributions to these programs, CTA has enabled over $1 million to be granted to deserving high school graduates wanting to obtain higher education.
Capital Trust Agency was created pursuant to Section 163.01, Chapter 125, Chapter 166, and Chapter 159, Florida Statutes, as amended, together with all home rule powers granted by the Constitution and laws of the State of Florida. The cities of Gulf Breeze and Century entered into an intergovernmental agreement on behalf of themselves and any future participating governmental unit to establish CTA.
Since its formation in 1985, Gulf Breeze Financial Services (GBFS) has financed over $870 million of low-cost loans to governmental entities around the state of Florida. Offering both variable and fixed rate loans to localities and other political subdivision, GBFS has financed utility services and wastewater projects, port projects, municipal buildings, roadways and other various capital projects to improve local economies. All of these projects have been based on revenue streams assigned to the project without a general obligation of the taxing power of the State of Florida or any political subdivision of it. In each of these cases, GBFS has facilitated lower financing rates so that each of these borrowers created the best possible outcome for its citizens. These rates have been so attractive that many projects that were already financed and making debt service payments utilized GBFS to refinance their outstanding debt to create a cost savings. This decrease on the burden of municipalities and political subdivisions has helped to save taxpayer’s funds.
Capital Trust Agency Community Development Entity (CTA CDE) was formed in 2007 and was certified by the US Treasury as a Community Development Entity. This means that CTA CDE is able to apply for New Markets Tax Credits to entice private investment to projects in qualifying areas. By selling these tax credits CTA CDE is able to create flexible loans, sometimes up to 50% below market rates, for qualifying projects. CTA CDE has been able to finance deserving projects, such as the Glazer Children’s Museum in Tampa, Florida and a biofuel power facility in Berlin, New Hampshire. The $75 million of tax credits allocated to CTA CDE were used in conjunction with other community development entities to bring in an additional $180 million in private investment over a two-year period.
This total investment created thousands of construction jobs, hundreds of permanent jobs, and acted as a catalyst for further private investment into blighted areas. CTA CDE not only targets investment to deserving projects, but areas that are distressed and needing investment.
