Studio Two Three is a forward-thinking nonprofit art studio in Richmond, VA with a mission to empower artists to create civic change and community engagement through art. After 13 years of growth, Studio Two Three decided to explore the opportunity of purchasing a permanent home for their high-performing studio. Our lending affiliate, VCDF, helped Studio Two Three receive an $800,000 loan so the organization can make an impact in their forever home.

VCDC is proud to announce the closing of three projects in 2020 by our lending program, VCDF (Virginia Community Development Fund), to obligate one half of our allocation of 2018 New Market Tax Credits.

Center in the Square provides housing for arts and science organizations free of charge and offers marketing and other support services to tenants, assuring the stability and viability of their programming. With a variety of arts, science, and entertainment opportunities, it is an invaluable cultural and educational resource for Roanoke residents and visitors

Connecting the Wayne Theatre to revitalization efforts in the city’s downtown, the Wayne Theatre Alliance saw an opportunity to simultaneously pay homage to the building’s history and catalyze economic development in the city’s downtown with a performance center for the arts.

The Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, was established in order to preserve and promote the musical heritage of Bristol. With focused collaboration between public and private entities on both the Virginia and Tennessee sides of town, the Birthplace of Country Music Cultural Heritage Center was born in 2014.

Housing security is correlated to health and emotional well-being, employment prospects and economic opportunity, yet the supply of available affordable housing for low-income renters across the country is deeply inadequate. Millions of people can’t afford a place to live.

The New Markets Tax Credit Program was established to spur investments in operating businesses and real estate projects located in low-income communities. The program attracts investment capital by permitting individual and corporate investors to receive a tax credit against their Federal income tax return in exchange for making equity investments in specialized financial institutions.

Real estate tax credits are tools the federal government and state governments use to encourage investment in the development of real estate that is necessary and beneficial to a community, but not financially feasible without additional incentives.