The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund is soliciting comments concerning the conflict of interest reporting requirements for contract readers of applications submitted for funding or tax credit allocation authority under the CDFI Fund's award programs. The CDFI Fund's current policy regarding application reviewers requires the mandatory completion of a conflict of interest package. Written comments must be received on or before June 28. The conflict of interest information package is available from the CDFI Fund's web site at www.cdfifund.gov.

Advantage Capital Partners announced the addition of a new managing director, Jonathan Goldstein. Goldstein will work out of Advantage Capital's St. Louis, Mo. office, assisting the structuring and closing of new markets tax credit (NMTC) transactions. Prior to joining Advantage Capital, Goldstein served as the senior vice president for McCormack Baron Salazar, where he oversaw the project finance group and the firm's NMTC practice, including $210 million in Treasury allocations. He is also the founder and one-time president of Sunwheel Energy Partners. Goldstein holds a bachelor's degree from Yale University.

The city of Seattle, Wash. announced the launch of a $40 million federal NMTC program to provide low-cost financing to businesses in targeted neighborhoods. The city, over the next 18 months, plans to invest its NMTC allocation in multiple commercial and mixed-use projects in select North Seattle neighborhoods, the downtown business core, manufacturing and industrial centers, parts of Capitol Hill and the Central District, and the Rainier Valley. Treasury approved the allocation in the fall of 2009. Seattle's Office of Economic Development spearheaded the city's application and will manage the investment of NMTCs through a city-created entity called Seattle Investment Fund LLC. More information about Seattle's NMTC allocation is available at www.seattle.gov/economicdevelopment.

JPMorgan Chase announced a $325 million initiative to support the growth of high-performing charter schools. The bank will provide $50 million in grants to community development financial institutions (CDFIs) focused on funding charter schools. CDFIs will use the grants as permanent equity that can be leveraged to fund top-performing schools. JPMorgan Chase will also work with the CDFIs to provide approximately $175 million in debt and approximately $100 million in NMTC equity to support the development of charter school facilities, allowing the CDFIs to access the Obama Administration's financing programs. The bank estimates that the initiative will help underwrite approximately 40 charter schools and serve more than 50,000 students throughout the loan term. CDFIs that are interested in applying for a grant through the program may contact JPMorgan Chase at CharterSchools.CDFI@jpmchase.com.

CFDI Fund Director Donna J. Gambrell attended the April opening of the Junior Achievement Workforce Readiness Center in Compton, Calif. Clearinghouse CDFI, with funding awards from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), provided a $29 million NMTC allocation to prevent foreclosure and allow construction to continue on the facility, which has created approximately 450 jobs for local residents. The center is a satellite office for Junior Achievement of Southern California and will provide services to local residents, schools and other not-for-profit community groups. As a condition of its NMTC award, the center will operate out of donated retail space.

City officials in Los Angeles, Calif. held a groundbreaking ceremony for the first of two construction phases of a mixed-use, mixed-income, transit-oriented development located one block from a Metro Rail Station entrance. Financed in part by funds from the Recovery Act, the Westlake/
MacArthur Park development is part of Metro's Joint Development Program, which seeks to secure development on Metro-owned property at or adjacent to transit stations and corridors. Phase I will include 90 affordable rental units, ground-floor retail space and 100 commuter parking spaces. Development costs total $45 million. Financing sources for Phase I include Recovery Act funds, NMTC equity contributions from Goldman Sachs and MBS Urban Initiatives CDE LLC, low-income housing tax credit equity and tax-exempt bonds.