Tonkon Torp Celebrates Real Estate Milestone with Albina Head Start


Tonkon Torp is proud to celebrate with its long term community partner Albina Head Start (AHS) for reaching the significant milestone of fulfilling the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing obligations on five of their learning centers.

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As of May 25, 2021, AHS owns the McCormack Matthews, Owen Blank, Avel Gordly, Carolyn Young–Traci Rose and Charlotte Lewis–McKinley Burt centers without any debt encumbering these properties.

AHS and Tonkon Torp have enjoyed a decades-long relationship. Led by partner Owen Blank, the firm has provided strategic counsel and a myriad of pro bono legal services to AHS, which delivers educational, school readiness, social, and other services to more than 1,000 low-income children and their families in Portland. Blank and Tonkon Torp partner Kimberlee Stafford provided significant pro bono support for this transaction. Together with colleagues including attorney Adam Adkin, they provided the legal services for the corporate and real estate tasks necessary to complete the “unwind” of the NMTC financing. Throughout the transaction, the attorneys worked with United Fund Advisors (UFA), who managed the NMTC allocation and placement process. Based in Portland, UFA provides tax-advantaged investment capital and advisory services for community development and renewable energy projects throughout the country.

“I’ve enjoyed working with Tonkon Torp during this project. It was exciting for all of us to finally unwind the NMTC transaction for AHS, enabling them to recognize the full benefit of the tax credit financing,” shared Chris Hasle, principal at United Fund Advisors and a trustee of AHS. “New Markets Tax Credit financing is a powerful community development tool that offers flexible financing to groups like AHS that provide much-needed community services.”

The effort by AHS to retire its mortgage debt began in 2014 when the organization received NMTC financing to pay off $1.7 million financings for the McCormack Matthews, Owen Blank, and Avel Gordly centers. Recent donations to AHS of the Carolyn Young–Traci Rose and Charlotte Lewis–McKinley Burt centers supported the NMTC financing. By using the NMTC financing to eliminate its real estate debt over the course of seven years, the organization has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars and enhanced its ability to provide services to children and their families in our community.

About Tonkon Torp – Tonkon Torp LLP is a leading business and litigation law firm serving public companies, substantial private enterprises, entrepreneurial businesses, and individuals throughout the Northwest. For more information, visit tonkon.com.