D3 Development, owned by Greg Hill, is renovating a shuttered candy manufacturing facility into office and other commercial space in Philadelphia’s Bridesburg neighborhood.

Built in 1920, the historic site will be home to the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations (El Concilio), the oldest Latino organization in the city, which provides a range of human services, including critical support for children that spans foster care, adoption services, youth development, victim services and after-school programming.

D3 expects to fill the remaining space with other nonprofit tenants. The firm is an experienced local developer focused on community impact, including transforming aging manufacturing facilities into hubs for culturally responsive, community-serving tenants.

The $20 million renovation of The Chocolate Factory includes 69,000 square feet of space—more than 70 percent of which will be occupied by El Concilio, which the city’s Department of Human Services has designated as a Community Umbrella Agency focused on providing family services in the lower northeast region of the city. This project bolsters the 60-year-old organization’s capacity to support at-risk children as a CUA that is anchored in the community it serves.

To support the project, Broadstreet committed financing including $5.2 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Broadstreet’s parent and $5.5 million of NMTC tax credit equity from the NMTC Thriving Communities Fund, managed by Broadstreet and capitalized by TD Bank. Other financing for the project comes from PIDC Community Capital (NMTCs), National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NMTCs and historic tax credits), Reinvestment Fund (debt), D3/Greg Hill and El Concilio.

This redevelopment effort would likely be unaffordable without the support of NMTCs, which lowers the overall interest rate for the capital stack. With the NMTC financing in place, the project is expected to create 130 jobs, all providing a living wage and benefits, and most expected to be filled by people of color, including those in the surrounding community.

The project is also attracting investment and vital family services to a North Philadelphia neighborhood where nearly 40 percent of people live in poverty and the area median income is less than 37 percent.