City of Brewton and Brewton Development Authority

City of Brewton and Brewton Development Authority, a UB Community Development (UBCD) New Markets Tax Credits Success Story

UB Community Development, LLC (UBCD), a community development partner of United Bank, announces $8 million in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) to the City of Brewton & Brewton Development Authority. The funds will be used to support downtown redevelopment efforts, attracting and encouraging new development projects as well as additional job creation.

The redevelopment plan includes demolition and renovation of properties within the downtown area, making it an attractive public improvement for businesses to relocate to Brewton. Brewton has a unique location and many affirming characteristics such as ranking as one of the 100 best small towns in America and an extraordinarily ranked school system. The city and development authority had a strong vision for this project to cultivate a safe and vibrant downtown with strong sustainable vitality using the underutilized space.

Provalus is one of the main companies to benefit from this anchor project. Provalus expanded to Brewton in 2017, occupying vacant downtown space. Since then, Provalus has been successful in attracting, retaining and investing in software technology-based employment. Their mission in attracting talent to rural communities has their current facility at capacity. The expanded development gives Provalus the capacity to expand in their existing facility.

“We are gratified with the enhancements and resurgence of the emerging downtown Brewton business district,” said Alex Jones, President of UBCD. “It takes more than a single project to restore a downtown, it takes continued partnership and commitment. Together, in partnership with the City of Brewton and Brewton Development Authority, our mission of providing innovative funding solutions like New Markets Tax Credits is stimulating downtown redevelopment, recruiting new business, converting unused space, and improving the physical image of downtown.”

“Watching Provalus grow and build in our downtown is nothing short of thrilling,” Mayor Yank Lovelace said. “There is nothing more exciting than seeing our strategy for economic development work, with jobs and future development being the return on our investment. We have partnered with state and federal agencies, and local financial institutions to set the stage for a thriving downtown, and Provalus will be one of our biggest stars.”

About UB Community Development
UB Community Development’s strong history and experience in New Markets Tax Credit transactions, coupled with our passion for improving the communities around us, make UBCD Alabama’s premier financial partner for economic and community development. Through our NMTC projects, Community Facilities Lending Program and Community Housing Capital Fund, UBCD is working with community development partners in the fields of healthcare, education, manufacturing, public works, affordable housing and more.

Since 2016, the U.S. Department of Treasury, through its New Markets Tax Credit Program, has awarded United Bancorporation of Alabama (OTCQX: UBAB), the parent corporation of United Bank and UBCD, $120 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocations. UBAB, and subsequently UBCD, are the only community development entities (CDE) headquartered in Alabama to receive a NMTC allocation from Treasury in the last decade. This success was made possible largely because of United Bank’s designation as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and the organization’s unwavering commitment to its CDFI mission to bring positive and sustainable economic and quality-of-life improvements to underserved communities, not only in its traditional banking footprint, but throughout the entire states of Alabama and Florida.

Additionally, UBCD, as the community development management entity for UBAB, manages a $40 million Community Facilities Lending Program, which provides accessible, low-cost capital to local government and nonprofits in rural areas. Finally, UBCD offers Community Housing Capital (CHC) investments as part of its commitment to strong inclusive neighborhoods and diverse housing opportunities. CHC investments are partly funded by Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) awards allocated through the US Department of Treasury. Since 2018, United Bank has been the recipient of two CMF awards totaling $10 million. Like the New Markets Tax Credit awards, UBCD is the only Alabama-based bank to receive and administer these programs.

Download the success story here.