The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program provides critical financing for economic development projects across West Virginia’s diverse communities. From Charleston’s urban corridors to Huntington’s revitalizing neighborhoods, from Morgantown’s innovation districts to the coal-transition communities throughout the state, NMTC financing enables transformative investments in areas where traditional capital markets fall short. CBO Financial partners with West Virginia developers, energy sector companies, healthcare systems, advanced manufacturers, and community organizations to structure financing solutions that strengthen the Mountain State’s economy while addressing unique challenges, including coal industry decline, geographic isolation, persistent rural poverty, and the urgent need for economic diversification.
West Virginia’s evolving economy—characterized by energy production and transition, chemical manufacturing, aerospace, healthcare, tourism and outdoor recreation, advanced manufacturing, and emerging technology sectors—creates substantial opportunities for strategic NMTC deployment. The program offers a 39% federal tax credit to investors who provide capital to qualified projects in low-income communities, significantly reducing borrowing costs and making economically vital projects financially feasible. Whether you’re developing energy transition projects, expanding chemical manufacturing operations, creating mixed-use developments in Wheeling or Parkersburg, or building healthcare infrastructure in rural counties, NMTC financing can provide the capital advantage necessary to move your project forward in West Virginia’s challenging markets.
How the NMTC Program Works in West Virginia
The NMTC Program functions through certified Community Development Entities (CDEs) authorized by the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund to make Qualified Low-Income Community Investments (QLICIs) throughout West Virginia. Projects must be situated in census tracts where the poverty rate exceeds 20% or the median family income falls below 80% of the area median. Investors providing equity to CDEs receive tax credits totaling 39% over seven years—5% annually for the first three years and 6% annually for the remaining four years.
West Virginia contains extensive eligible geography throughout the state. Charleston, Huntington, Wheeling, Parkersburg, and Morgantown contain substantial qualifying census tracts. The southern coalfields region—including counties like McDowell, Mingo, Logan, Wyoming, and Boone—presents widespread NMTC opportunities due to severe coal industry decline and persistent poverty. Northern panhandle communities, Eastern Panhandle areas, and rural counties throughout the state contain extensive eligible geography due to limited economic diversification, population decline, and manufacturing job losses.
The program supports sectors central to West Virginia’s economic priorities: energy transition projects, including renewable energy and natural gas processing, chemical and advanced manufacturing operations, aerospace component production, healthcare and behavioral health infrastructure, technology and innovation spaces, tourism and outdoor recreation facilities, food processing and agricultural value-chain facilities, and downtown revitalization projects. CBO Financial connects West Virginia projects with regional and national CDEs, navigating compliance requirements while ensuring projects advance NMTC projects in Maryland, objectives aligned with state economic development strategies.
Eligible Projects and Borrowers
West Virginia projects eligible for NMTC financing address critical infrastructure and economic development needs across the state’s challenging financial landscape. Energy transition projects represent particularly impactful NMTC opportunities as West Virginia diversifies beyond coal dependence. Natural gas processing facilities, renewable energy equipment manufacturing, battery storage systems, hydrogen production facilities, carbon capture technology operations, and energy efficiency manufacturing qualify for NMTC support when serving community development objectives and creating accessible employment.
Chemical manufacturing facilities leverage West Virginia’s established chemical industry cluster. Plastics production, specialty chemicals, pharmaceutical ingredients, and advanced materials manufacturing qualify when demonstrating job creation in low-income communities. Aerospace component manufacturing projects capitalize on West Virginia’s growing aerospace presence. Composite materials production, precision machining operations, and aerospace parts manufacturing qualify for NMTC financing.
Healthcare infrastructure projects remain critically important given West Virginia’s severe healthcare challenges. Rural hospital stabilization and modernization, federally qualified health centers, substance abuse treatment centers addressing West Virginia’s devastating opioid crisis, behavioral health facilities, dental clinics, and telehealth infrastructure all qualify when serving underserved populations. West Virginia’s challenges with maternal mortality, diabetes prevalence, and the nation’s highest overdose death rates make healthcare facilities exceptionally compelling NMTC candidates.
Advanced manufacturing facilities producing machinery, electronics, automotive components, or other goods qualify when located in eligible census tracts and create jobs. Food processing and agricultural infrastructure projects—including meat processing, specialty food production, and farm-to-market distribution—support West Virginia’s agricultural economy.
Tourism and outdoor recreation infrastructure leverage West Virginia’s natural amenities. Hotels and lodging facilities, outdoor recreation facilities, adventure tourism operations, cultural centers, and tourism support infrastructure qualify for NMTC support. The state’s growing outdoor recreation economy provides opportunities for projects that create jobs while showcasing West Virginia’s natural resources.
Technology and innovation spaces—including business incubators, accelerators, coworking facilities, and research centers—qualify when spurring economic development in transitioning communities. Educational facilities such as charter schools, early childhood education centers, STEM learning facilities, and workforce training centers address academic needs and qualify for financing.
Downtown revitalization projects in communities like Bluefield, Beckley, Clarksburg, Weirton, and Fairmont leverage NMTC to transform vacant storefronts and underutilized buildings into vibrant mixed-use developments. Former coal company towns throughout the state require substantial redevelopment to create modern commercial and community infrastructure.
Eligible borrowers include for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, and local government entities developing qualified projects. The borrower must demonstrate substantial service to low-income communities and prove that NMTC financing is essential to project feasibility. CBO Financial creates comprehensive capital packages through the community development financial institutions program that combine NMTC with conventional debt, equity, West Virginia Development Office incentives, Appalachian Regional Commission funding, USDA financing for rural projects, and other complementary sources tailored to West Virginia’s development landscape.
Benefits of the NMTC Program for West Virginia
The NMTC Program delivers substantial economic benefits to West Virginia communities while providing borrowers with advantageous financing structures essential in the state’s capital-constrained environment. The 39% tax credit significantly reduces effective capital costs, often enabling projects to achieve debt service coverage acceptable to lenders while maintaining operational viability. For capital-intensive projects common in West Virginia—chemical plants, healthcare campuses, manufacturing facilities, energy infrastructure—this cost reduction frequently determines whether projects proceed or remain unrealized.
Beyond financial mechanics, NMTC investments generate measurable community impact. Job creation and retention constitute primary program objectives, with projects committing to creating positions accessible to low-income individuals. In West Virginia’s distressed communities—particularly southern coalfield counties experiencing catastrophic economic decline—quality job creation carries life-changing importance for families and communities with few economic alternatives.
West Virginia’s coal-transition communities benefit substantially from NMTC’s capacity to finance economic diversification projects. Communities devastated by the coal industry’s collapse need entirely new economic foundations, and NMTC-financed manufacturing facilities, healthcare centers, tourism infrastructure, and technology operations help these communities build pathways beyond coal dependency.
NMTC projects catalyze significant private investment—each allocation dollar typically attracts multiple additional capital dollars, multiplying the program’s economic effect. This leverage proves especially important in West Virginia, where conventional lenders often avoid projects due to perceived market risk and where attracting any private investment to distressed communities represents a significant achievement.
The program provides patient capital with flexible repayment terms. Unlike conventional loans requiring immediate full debt service, NMTC structures often feature interest-only periods during initial years, allowing projects to stabilize operations before principal payments commence. This flexibility proves valuable for projects in West Virginia’s challenging markets, where revenue ramp-up may take longer than in more prosperous regions. To evaluate your West Virginia project’s NMTC potential, receive free project analysis with CBO Financial’s specialized team.
Regulatory & State Development Framework
West Virginia’s economic development infrastructure supports NMTC deployment through various state-level programs and agencies. The West Virginia Development Office, part of the Department of Economic Development, administers numerous incentive programs that complement NMTC financing, including the Strategic Research and Development Tax Credit, Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit, Economic Opportunity Tax Credit, and various workforce development initiatives. Understanding how to layer these state resources with federal NMTC benefits can significantly enhance project economics.
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) provides substantial grants and financing for projects throughout West Virginia, as the entire state falls within the Appalachian region. ARC funding represents a critical complement to NMTC for many projects, particularly infrastructure and economic diversification initiatives in distressed counties.
The West Virginia Economic Development Authority provides financing tools, including loan programs and bond financing, that may complement NMTC transactions. For coal-transition projects, various federal programs through agencies like the Economic Development Administration and the Department of Labor provide resources supporting workforce retraining and community diversification.
Local governments in West Virginia offer incentives through tax increment financing, enterprise zones, and various local programs, though local capacity varies significantly across the state’s economically distressed counties. Regional economic development organizations—including BridgeValley CTC’s Small Business Development Center network, regional planning and development councils, and county development authorities—provide project support and help navigate available programs.
West Virginia University, Marshall University, and the state’s community and technical college system provide workforce training and research partnerships that strengthen project feasibility. The Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing gives technical assistance to manufacturing projects.
For healthcare projects, partnerships with federally qualified health center networks and the West Virginia Primary Care Association strengthen applications. For outdoor recreation projects, coordination with the West Virginia Division of Tourism and Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority can provide validation and support.
CBO Financial ensures projects meet both federal NMTC compliance requirements and West Virginia’s regulatory framework. We coordinate timing between NMTC closing schedules, West Virginia Development Office incentive applications, ARC grant applications, local approval processes, and environmental reviews. Our understanding of West Virginia’s economic development challenges—including limited local government capacity in distressed areas and the importance of community support for projects—streamlines execution in the state’s unique environment.
Get Started with NMTC Financing in West Virginia
If you’re developing a project in a West Virginia low-income community—whether in urban areas like Charleston or Huntington, coal-transition counties throughout the southern region, or rural communities across the state—NMTC financing deserves serious consideration. The program’s capacity to reduce capital costs while directing investment to underserved areas makes it uniquely powerful for addressing West Virginia’s development challenges, particularly supporting economic diversification beyond coal, addressing severe healthcare access gaps, and creating sustainable employment in communities facing financial devastation.
CBOFinancial’s process begins with a comprehensive project evaluation: verifying census tract eligibility, analyzing community impact potential, assessing NMTC suitability relative to other financing options, including ARC funding and state programs, and identifying optimal CDE partners with experience in highly distressed markets. We then construct customized capital stacks that may combine NMTC with conventional debt, equity investments, West Virginia Development Office incentives, ARC grants, USDA programs for rural projects, and other complementary sources.
West Virginia clients benefit from our established relationships with CDEs, tax credit investors, and lenders willing to work in challenging markets. We understand West Virginia’s unique development context—the urgency of coal-transition economic diversification, the severity of the opioid crisis and healthcare challenges, the opportunities in natural gas and chemical industries, the potential of outdoor recreation tourism, and the community-level impacts of economic projects in small, distressed communities. This West Virginia-specific expertise increases NMTC allocation success rates and helps projects succeed under challenging conditions.
Project size shouldn’t deter NMTC exploration. West Virginia transactions ranging from $2 million to $50 million regularly close using creative structuring approaches tailored to the state’s markets. The key is early engagement with experienced advisors who understand both NMTC mechanics and West Virginia’s specific development challenges. Connect with RACP project professionals at CBO Financial today to discover how NMTC can make your West Virginia community development project a reality.