MiraclePlace wins Novogradac Community Development Award

Novogradac & Company LLP has announced the winners of its 6th Annual Community Development Awards. Metropolitan Ministries MiraclePlace, located in Tampa, received the Award for Operating Business of the Year, along with Zilkha Biomass Fuels. Florida Community Loan Fund, provider of NMTC allocation for this project, nominated MiraclePlace for this award. The Community Development Awards honor Community Development Entitites (CDEs) and projects that exhibit a well-executed vision and measurable community impact.

Metropolitan Ministries' mission is to care for the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless in the community through services that alleviate suffering, promote dignity and instill self-sufficiency. The organization was founded in 1972 when 13 Tampa area churches of various denominations came together to create a single organization that would increase efficiency and eliminate duplication of services while meeting the needs of the growing homeless population. Since then, Metropolitan Ministries has expanded to offer hot meals, summer camps for kids, programs that lead to self-sufficiency, and other outreach services for at-risk populations throughout a 4-county area.

In 2012, over 25,000 families were reached through these services. The need for transitional housing for families has continued to increase: in 2012, nearly 3,000 families sought housing assistance - a 325% increase over the past 5 years - and the waiting list averaged 3-6 months. The time to increase capacity was imminent, and the construction of MiraclePlace would add space for additional families in need and allow Metropolitan Ministries to renovate its existing space.

Using NMTC financing for the MiraclePlace project - 93,000 square feet of new and renovated space on 4 acres north of downtown Tampa - will further the organization's mission by offering education, rehabilitation, family counseling, child care, food service facilities, emergency and transitional shelter.

The MiraclePlace campus, phase 1 of which opened in August 2013, doubled onsite capacity to house 200 families and 500 children annually. The expansion includes 52 new units of transitional housing, a new child care facility for up to 150 children, a new family counseling center, larger dining facilities, and renovation of existing emergency housing. A unique feature of MiraclePlace is its on-site K-5 elementary school, which is a Hillsborough County public school. The school offers small class sizes and additional social services for up to 136 at-risk low-income children. The creation of a public school on a non-profit homeless service campus is unique to the Tampa Bay area and to Florida.

Another successful example of the Metropolitan Ministries impact is their Inside the Box Cafe. Managed by former Metropolitan Ministries residents and staffed by interns who are current residents, Inside the Box serves lunch daily and offers catering services. Profits from the Cafe help fund the Ministries' food outreach, with each meal purchased providing a meal for a person in need, while interns receive on-the-job training that prepares them for careers in the food service industry. These formerly homeless students are now fully employed and learning to live independently. The internships and positions at the Cafe are a part of Metropolitan Ministries Uplift U program, which helps families become self-sufficient. 

Because of its tremendous community impact, the MiraclePlace project is right on target with Florida Community Loan Fund's priorities for NMTC projects, which include:

• Community facilities serving low-income and/or at-risk clients;
• High impact economic development projects with strong job creation and bringing new services to a low-income community;
• A new or renovated building in a highly distressed census tract that brings new services to the neighborhood;
• A project with strong support of the local community and compatibility with broader regional economic development strategies.

MiraclePlace has applied for Gold LEED Certification. Green features that have been incorporated during construction will provide lower operating costs and allow more dollars to go to programs for families and individuals in need.

The Community Development Awards were presented at the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits conference during the Community Development Awards Luncheon on October 10, 2013. Click here to view the press release announcing this and other Community Development Awards.

For more information on Metropolitan Ministries, click here.
Or, visit www.metromin.org 
View more photos of MiraclePlace on FCLF's Flickr page. 
Pictured below: MiraclePlace groundbreaking, President Tim Marks, dining facility, playground.