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North Carolina project eligible for EB-5 visa program
After it was recently announced that finance offers were on the table for the View project in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina, a managing partner for the project said that it will also qualify for the EB-5 visa program, which encourages foreign investment, StarNewsOnline.com reports.
The potential mixed-use development could be given a $6 to $8 million loan through the EB-5 visa program, managing partner and project developer Terry Espy said recently.
Through the EB-5 program, foreigners can obtain U.S. green card eligibility by making an investment of $1 million (or $500,000 in some areas) in an American company or project that either creates or maintains at least 10 full-time jobs.
Espy told a group of representatives of the hospitality industry at the Wilmington Area Hospitality Association that the $26 million project can qualify for the EB-5 program because it is expected to create 100 permanent jobs, the news source said.
Espy added that she had worked with representatives from the Atlantic EB-5 Regional Center for Foreign Investment, which is located in Research Triangle Park, according to the news provider.
EB-5 regional centers are defined by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as "any economic unit, public or private, which is involved with the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment."
According to the USCIS, the Atlantic Regional Center specializes in a variety of industries including biotech pharmaceutical life sciences, industrial transportation and shipping and mixed-use development through the use of sustainable methods.
The regional center's website adds that it maintains a list of EB-5-qualified projects that foreign investors can pick to fund, according to StarNewsOnline.com.
The mixed-use View development, which is scheduled to be constructed on the site of a former Wachovia Bank in Wilmington, is expected to feature a 140-room hotel, a restaurant and 22 condominiums.
Espy explained that a structure for the project's funding had been arranged through MoMentum Group, but said she could not yet disclose the full details, reports the news source.
"Until the chickens are in the pot cooking, I don't count them," she said.
Espy did say that if everything goes according to plan, construction for the View development could begin in early spring, according to the news provider.