GSA Daily Staff Report
Published August 11, 2009

The Greenville New Markets Opportunity LLC announced today more than $8 million in below-market financing for The NEXT Innovation Center in downtown Greenville.

The 60,000-square-foot Innovation Center is geared to help technology entrepreneurs turn ideas into profits. It was created by the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, the City of Greenville, the Hughes Development Corporation and NEXT, an entrepreneurial resource collaborative.

At the center, NEXT members will co-locate to share experiences. Already, six startup companies have signed on for space. The center features various office sizes and types, along with a variety of common spaces for idea generation and entertainment.

GNMO's New Markets Tax Credit financing, combined with debt and equity financing by Carolina First Bank, was critical in securing the funds available and affordable to meet the needs and requirements of the NEXT tenants.

“This unique project is designed to assist entrepreneurial growth, which is key to a bright economic future in South Carolina,” said Bob Hughes, president of Hughes Development Corp. "No building like this exists anywhere that we know of, and there is no way it could have been financed by a developer or afforded by the NEXT members without GNMO's New Market Tax Credits."

NEXT is an entrepreneurial resource collaborative supporting technology entrepreneurs in the Upstate through concierge services, infrastructure development and public advocacy.

Greenville New Markets is an entity created under the U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund to provide capital for real estate development. Among several programs, the CDFI provides tax credits to community development agencies like Greenville New Markets. The tax credits aim to attract private investment that the entities will reinvest.