Cinnaire, Collaborative Group Secure $43.8M NMTC Package for Wilmington's Kingswood Community Center, Named Novogradac Metro QLICI of the Year
WILMINGTON, Del. — June 11, 2026 — A collaborative group of six Community Development Entities has provided $43.8 million in New Markets Tax Credit financing for the new Kingswood Community Center in Wilmington, Delaware, with the project earning recognition as the 2026 Novogradac Qualified Low-Income Community Investment (QLICI) of the Year. The award was announced at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., during the Novogradac Spring New Markets Tax Credit Conference, honoring CDEs that demonstrate excellence in community development financing.
The facility spans 80,600 square feet and is located in Wilmington's Riverside neighborhood. The project was supported by Cinnaire Advancing Communities New Markets LLC, Capital One Community Renewal Fund, DV Community Investment, Grow America/HEDC New Markets, Inc., MBS Urban Initiatives CDE LLC, and Urban Action Community Development LLC, which together provided the $43.8 million in Qualified Low-Income Community Investments to fund the facility's construction.
Financing Structure: Six CDEs, $43.8 Million in QLICIs
The $43.8 million NMTC package represents a multi-party financing arrangement involving six CDEs. New Markets Tax Credit deals of this type typically layer mission-driven capital alongside other funding sources to make community facility projects financially viable in areas where market revenues alone may not support the cost of new construction.
The Kingswood project illustrates the use of NMTC financing for a needs-based community asset: an 80,600-square-foot facility serving childcare, pediatric health care, senior services, and fitness uses in a historically disinvested neighborhood.
Kingswood Community Center: Program Mix and Development Details
The new facility is designed as a multi-program community hub serving residents across all life stages. Its program mix includes a state-of-the-art Early Learning Academy, a children's primary health care center, a sports and fitness center, a senior center, and flexible multipurpose rooms, meeting spaces, and offices.
The Early Learning Academy is projected to expand its capacity from 65 children to approximately 200, addressing a documented childcare supply gap in the neighborhood. The children's primary health care center is designed to serve up to 8,000 pediatric patients annually. The senior center will serve 120 area residents.
Anchor Asset Within a $600 Million Neighborhood Revitalization
The Kingswood Community Center is positioned as a central component of a broader, community-led transformation of Wilmington's Riverside neighborhood, advanced through The Wrk Group and its network of partners, including REACH Riverside. That broader effort represents a $600 million revitalization plan that integrates housing, education, and community health, with plans for more than 700 mixed-income homes alongside coordinated investments in services and community assets.
The Kingswood project is expected to create 62 full-time jobs, retain 75 existing positions, and generate approximately 250 construction jobs.
Cinnaire Advancing Communities and the NMTC Recognition
Cinnaire Advancing Communities announced the Novogradac QLICI of the Year recognition on June 11, 2026. The Novogradac QLICI of the Year Award recognizes CDEs that strive for excellence in community development.
The award highlights the role of collaborative financing structures in delivering large-scale community assets. By pooling allocations across six CDEs — Cinnaire New Markets LLC, Capital One Community Renewal Fund, DV Community Investment, Grow America/HEDC New Markets, Inc., MBS Urban Initiatives CDE LLC, and Urban Action Community Development LLC — the partnership assembled a financing package sufficient to support a facility of this scale in a neighborhood that has experienced long-standing disinvestment.