Classic Lake
Consulting & Investments

Proven Track Record

Past Projects

 

Classic Lake has facilitated the placement of over $350 million of investment, providing critical financing for over two dozen community and economic development projects from new construction to adaptive reuse and historic rehabilitation across the country. Classic Lake provides supportive services to municipal agencies, real estate and housing developers, small businesses, healthcare and education institutions, fresh grocers, non-profits, and financial services firms, enabling them to bridge capital gaps. Classic Lake also works with developers to increase outreach and hiring of minority- and women-owned businesses to address workforce equity.

Project Locations

 
 

Cristo Rey St. Viator - North Las Vegas, NV

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly halted all revenues to Cristo Rey St. Viator College Preparatory High School (Cristo Rey). Cristo Rey’s mission focuses on educating students with limited economic means. The schools’ student body is 95 percent minority and over 80 percent qualify for Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Tuition for each student is based on a family’s economic ability to pay. Seventy five percent of students pay less than $1,000 in annual tuition while the cost to serve a student averages $28,500. Currently, tuition payments only contribute 3-4 percent of Cristo Rey revenues.

“We are committed to serving low-income students and their families,” said Br. Carlos Flórez, C.S.V., Director of Admissions and Recruitment. “With the State NMTC investments, we will be able to continue growing our program and achieving the high rates of college enrollment that our program attains.”

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Cristo Rey identify new sources of capital to support its growth and staffing plans. Capital from the State of Nevada’s New Markets Tax Credit (“NMTC”) program played a critical role. The NMTC investment closed on June 17, 2021) and will directly support enrollment doubling from 157 students to over 300 students by Fall 2022 as well as increase employment by 67 percent from 37 full-time equivalents to 62 within 24 months.

Programmatically similar to the Federal NMTC program, the State of Nevada’s NMTC program was established to help attract private capital investment into low-income communities. Cristo Rey is located in a community where 34% of the population falls below the poverty line and unemployment is 21%. In 2019, network-wide, 92 percent of students graduating from a Cristo Rey affiliate school enrolled in a 2- or 4-year college, a rate 1.5 times low-income high school graduates nationally (61 percent) and higher than high-income high school graduates (86 percent). Cristo Rey graduates are also 3 times more likely to complete a bachelors degree by age 24, compared to the total U.S. low-income population.  Motivated by the positive economic and social impact expected from the growth of Cristo Rey, a cohort of partners including Stonehenge Nevada, Clearinghouse CDFI, Urban Action Community Development LLC, Pacesetter CDE, AMCREF Community Capital, and U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation collaborated to facilitate a $11,764,706 NMTC investment into the school.

Angelique PoissonCristo Rey St. Viator