A-State Board approves $15 million for career readiness center 

The Arkansas State University System Board of Trustees has agreed to a $15 million investment in phase one of construction of the Career Readiness Education & Skills Training (CREST) Center at the A-State in Jonesboro. The decision came during a special meeting held Thursday (March 12). 

Phase one will be the first 26,000 square feet of a planned 70,000-square-foot facility designed to enhance workforce training opportunities in advanced manufacturing, food processing and steel production.

The ASU System will pursue the use of New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) to help finance both the CREST Center and development of the Health Sciences Center at Arkansas State University-Newport, said Dr. Robin Myers, interim president of the ASU System.

The federal NMTC program, authorized under Section 45D of the Internal Revenue Service Code, provides incentives for private investment in projects located in qualifying low-income communities. Use of the program may provide access to private investment capital that would reduce the overall financing cost of the A-State and ASU-Newport projects.

The board authorized the ASU System to obtain a bridge loan of up to $5 million to assist in the financing of campus projects funded by federal, local and private sources. Myers said the loan was a matter of cash flow to meet construction deadlines and the timing of funds from government sources.

Trustees also approved a resolution to allow creation of corporate structures such as limited liability companies by system institutions to potentially finance projects including housing, academic buildings, research partnerships and intercollegiate athletics. 

The move could lead to public-private partnership agreements with new or existing private entities and the issuance of debt or other financial structures to address capital needs. Any such agreements would require additional approval by the board.