Albany, NY Pursues Regional Center

Eager to join the existing New York EB-5 Regional Centers, The Business Review reports that Albany, NY has submitted an application to the Development Council, for its own regional center.

EB-5 visa program could match Albany-area developers with wealthy foreign investors

Business leaders in Albany, New York, want to participate in a federal visa program that matches wealthy foreign investors with American developers.

The Center for Economic Growth has been talking to real estate developers, financiers, and attorneys about the steps needed to create what’s known as an EB-5 Regional Center.

The regional center would serve as the conduit between wealthy foreigners and local developers looking for an alternative source of financing, said CEG President F. Michael Tucker.

Establishing the regional center would cost $100,000 to $125,000 to do an economic analysis justifying the need for the program, Tucker said.

An application seeking funding for the regional center has been submitted to the Capital Region Economic Development Council, one of the groups created by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to prioritize and recommend economic development projects across the state.

Tucker, who serves on the council, said he would abstain from any discussion about funding the regional center.

Under the federal EB-5 program, foreigners are eligible to receive a permanent green card if they invest at least $500,000 in a U.S. company or business that results in the creation of 10 full-time jobs in a rural or distressed area.

“It basically provides a tranche of financing that would complement traditional bank debt and developer equity because right now in this credit market developers need more equity than they have in the past,” Tucker said.

The United Group of Cos in Troy, a large developer of student housing, has experience with EB-5 in Florida.

In New York, an EB-5 Regional Center was created in Plattsburgh.

In Vermont, more than 400 foreign investors are helping pay for a large expansion of the Jay Peak ski resort through the EB-5 program.

Photo: Y.MC.A in Albany, NY

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