Romark Global Pharma
New Market Tax Credits Revive a Puerto Rico Pharmaceutical Factory and Good Jobs
Challenge
In the weeks after Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico and ravaged the U.S. territory, Mid-City Community CDE, Urban Atlantic’s community development affiliate, sought a way to exercise its core expertise to help the island’s communities in their struggle for economic recovery. Romark Global Pharma, located 45 minutes outside of San Juan, had been forced by the storm to stop construction on a new facility. Secure and flexible financing would be needed to get the pharmaceutical manufacturing center back on track, finish the project, and provide scores of much-needed jobs.
What We Did
The partners of Urban Atlantic founded Mid-City Community CDE in 2002 to advance their goal of strengthening communities through thoughtful investment. The Romark project seemed well positioned to benefit from financing from this now well-established Community Development Entity (CDE) and to create greatly needed quality jobs. As part of its evaluation of the project, the Mid-City team worked closely with the community and saw how much the availability of good jobs would benefit the residents of this low-income community. Mid-City Community CDE became the first to pledge the flexible financing needed, assembling a circle of partners with New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) to enable Romark to complete construction and equip the new pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Manati, Puerto Rico. The leading and largest investment from Mid-City of $11 million in NMTC would also serve a company that, unlike other businesses
Vision Realized
Opening in 2019, the 25,000-square-foot facility was able to benefit from the region’s strong pharma manufacturing infrastructure and hire scores of employees who had been laid off by similar companies and provide them with living wages and benefits. This new economic engine expects ultimately to employ more than 100 members of a community that is still struggling to recover from a devastating natural disaster. Romark Global Pharma also anticipates an expansion with other facilities that will serve even more community needs with jobs and continued regional development.