Funding is ready, construction of North Port Boys & Girls Club to begin

Boys & Girls Clubs would pay below-market, interest-only payments for seven years, then up to $1.7 million of the loan through the New Markets Tax Credit program could be forgiven

NORTH PORT — Construction on the new Boys & Girls Club in North Port could begin as early as late fall after local attorneys helped the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto counties secure a unique type of loan to bridge the gap between money raised by local donors and the projected $9 million cost.

The final piece of the puzzle, a below-market rate loan through the federal New Markets Tax Credit program – $1.7 million of which is forgivable – was announced late last month.

The next key date for the project is July 11, when Boys & Girls Club officials will learn more about the award process for the $4 million Resilient SRQ grant it received from Sarasota County in May.

Bill Sadlo, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties, said the project includes renovating the gymnasium, which was the only usable structure after Hurricane Ian hit in September 2022.

Why does North Port need a new Boys & Girls Club?

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto counties had previously considered an update to the North Port club, which opened in 1997 at the Dallas White Park Scout House and later moved to the former South Biscayne Baptist Church campus at 6851 South Biscayne Dr. The pandemic interrupted fundraising, and then Hurricane Ian destroyed two of the three buildings.

About 250 children have benefited from the services of the Gene Matthews Boys & Girls Club. Many of those families still attend the club, which operates out of the gymnasium and two portable buildings.

“It’s a challenge this summer with 240 kids that we have enrolled in North Port and with the building limitations that we have,” Sadlo said.

How was funding obtained for the North Port Boys & Girls Club?

A new 14,000-square-foot club was announced in May 2023, before Gene Matthews’ death in August.

The new facility will be known as the Steven and Marjolaine Townsend Campus for the Gene Matthews Boys & Girls Club in North Port, in honor of Matthews and board member Steven Townsend, who launched the initial fundraising drive with a $1 million donation.

After that, CoolToday’s Jamie and Julie Di Domenico donated half a million dollars, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation pledged $1 million, and the Atlanta Braves made a large but unspecified donation that led to a groundbreaking ceremony in March, during spring training.

Combined with other donations, the $4 million Resilient SRQ grant from the $201.5 million federal Community Development Block Grant awarded for Hurricane Ian recovery and the New Market Tax Credits loan, this means the construction process can continue.

What is the New Markets Tax Credit Program?

The program was launched in 2000 by the U.S. Treasury Department in collaboration with the IRS.

“What that means is it provides tax credits to investors, to lenders who agree to make loans to underserved communities to eligible organizations, like the Boys & Girls Club,” said attorney Mike Pitchford, a partner at Shumaker, Loop and Kendrick in Sarasota, who issued an opinion letter on the loan’s viability. “The loans they’re making are well below market because the investors are getting tax credits.”

“It’s a benefit to investors, it’s a benefit to the community and the Boys & Girls Club,” he added.

The federal tax credit program is similar to the one used to subsidize affordable housing and workforce housing.

The Florida Community Loan Fund and Truist Financial are providing the loan funds.

Pitchford reviewed the voluminous and complex loan documents, working with several consultants and three law firms representing each of the seven parties involved, based in Chicago, St. Louis and Boston.

The club will make interest-only payments on the loan for seven years, after which up to $1.7 million of the balance may become forgivable.

Pitchford became involved through his partner Meghan O. Serrano, a Boys & Girls Club board member who also participated in the loan process.

“The damage from Hurricane Ian was extensive, but we knew the Boys & Girls Club was exactly where it needed to be to serve the community, so we had to rebuild,” Serrano said in a prepared statement. “Initially, we didn’t know how to do that.”

“However, after studying the New Markets Tax Credit in depth, we recognized that it was a unique and complex opportunity that we had to seize.”

What is the next step in the construction process?

Sadlo said that after the July 11 meeting with Sarasota County on Resilient SRQ funding, the club can put the project out to bid and select a general contractor, which is also part of the process to access the $4 million block grant.

The goal is to begin construction in early fall.

Donations are still needed and naming opportunities remain in North Port, Sadlo noted.

To learn more or contribute, visit https://bgcsdc.org/.

Also this fall, the nonprofit is expected to break ground on the new Louis and Gloria Flanzer Club Teen Center on the Arcadia Smith Brown campus in DeSoto County, which opened in October 2023.

There, the original club structure will be transformed into the Malcolm Family Teen Center, named in honor of Kirk and Rae Malcolm.

Permits are being obtained and renovations are expected to begin in the fall, Sadlo said.

The next major project on the horizon for Boys & Girls Clubs will be an update and possible replacement of the Roy McBean club campus in Newtown, and New Market tax credits will be explored for that.