CAHEC New Markets Invests $40 Million in Community Projects

RALEIGH, NC, September 10, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- CAHEC New Markets, a New Markets Tax Credit Community Development Entity, has announced a significant investment of $40 million in three community development projects across Florida, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The funding aims to enhance access to early childhood education, improve community services, and provide quality healthcare in rural areas.

The first investment, valued at $11 million, supports Childcare Resources’ new early learning campus and resource hub in Vero Beach, Florida. This expansion replaces the organization’s current 17,100 square-foot leased facility and significantly increases its capacity, allowing it to serve 200 students annually. Eighty-five percent of these students come from low-income families, with 20 seats reserved for children experiencing homelessness. The new campus includes 16 classrooms, student therapy rooms for wellness and early intervention services, and a professional development incubator for early learning educators. The professional development incubator is expected to serve an additional 300 educators annually, with 74% of them coming from low-income backgrounds. The project is anticipated to create 13 new jobs and retain 50 existing positions.

The second investment, worth $15 million, was provided to Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation (KCDC) for the Transforming Western Heights plan. This ambitious project involves a 70-acre U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Choice Neighborhood development, which includes over 700 affordable and mixed-income rental housing units. The NMTC financing supports the construction and renovation of a 35,195 square-foot campus, which includes the expansion of an existing Boys & Girls Club, upfitting clinic space to be occupied by the University of Tennessee Medical Center’s Primary Care Clinic, and the construction of a new Connections Building. This building will house Real Good Kitchen and Junior Achievement of East Tennessee’s Entrepreneurship Center, alongside an adjacent public park and plaza. Once completed, the project is projected to serve more than 6,000 community members annually, with 80% of them coming from low-income families. The project is expected to create 105 construction jobs and 40 new permanent positions.

The third investment, amounting to $14 million, supports FirstHealth of the Carolinas’ construction of a new two-story, 40,956-square-foot critical access hospital in Troy, North Carolina. This state-of-the-art facility will replace the Montgomery Memorial Hospital, which was built in 1949. The new hospital will provide more efficient emergency services, rehabilitation and therapy services, and other comprehensive care to the rural, medically underserved community it serves. Once complete, the hospital is projected to serve approximately 14,000 patients annually, while creating 166 construction jobs and retaining 136 full-time positions.

Brian Oxford, CAHEC’s Director of Community Capital, expressed pride in supporting these organizations and projects. “All three projects are driven by organizations that are deeply rooted in and have served their communities for decades,” Oxford said. “Through New Markets Tax Credit investments, we are able to help these organizations and the community members they serve realize their visions for strong, stable, and thriving communities that provide opportunities for years to come.”

CAHEC New Markets, an affiliate of CAHEC, uses New Markets Tax Credit allocations to finance high-impact community facility projects throughout the Southeast, aiming to help communities and their residents stabilize, advance, and thrive.