Sixteenth Street Community Health Center Open Mental Health Support Center in Milwaukee Thanks to New Markets Tax Credit Investment from FCI

August 25, 2021

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MILWAUKEE – FCI staff recently had the opportunity to visit and receive a tour from our partner Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers (SSCHC). The office building was previously bland and unwelcoming, but thanks to a thoughtful redesign and rehabilitation, it has since been transformed into a welcoming space providing mental health support services in Milwaukee’s Clarke Square neighborhood.

With the investment of New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) from FCI, SSCHC has completed the yearlong renovation which included gutting most of the two-story building and basement to add a new entryway and treatment rooms, as well as an office for administrative staff and dedicated space for back-office administrative operations for the entire organization. The facility includes space for care coordination, which will provide access to other medical services offered by SSCHC including peer support groups, group therapy, and continuum of care, and general medical services.

In addition to the revamped interior of the building, the exterior has also been transformed by the centerpiece of the project, an 18 – foot high and 52-foot-wide mural completed by local artist Isabel Castro. The mural (pictured above) is meant to depict the clinic’s providers while infusing traditional Mexican folk art. The mural also holds a personal meaning for Castro, whose depiction of a little boy having enough breath to blow a pinwheel is a tribute to the artist’s mother’s experience with asthma. Taken together, the mural is meant to represent how the new space is at the heart of the community. More information about the mural can be found here.

Now fully open and operational, the new facility is projected to annually serve over 800 individuals through nearly 5,000 visits, 80% of which will be by low-income individuals from the surrounding neighborhoods. FCI is proud to support such an impactful and transformational project in a diverse neighborhood like Clark Square. For more information about the SSCHC Mental Health Center project please read our press release here.

About New Markets Tax Credits: In addition to FCI’s standard nonprofit facility financing, FCI also offers other tools for financing deals. One of these tools is our NMTC program (which allows FCI to finance high-cost socially impactful projects via low-cost low-interest loans with flexible terms and interest-only payments. Consistent with our mission to support community-led projects that work to address issues of racial inequality and socioeconomic disparities, FCI has invested in childcare facilities, recreational facilities, community health centers, charters schools, and youth arts and performance centers our NMTC allocations.