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South Florida

MG3 scores EB-5 funding for charter school west of Delray

Rendering of the charter school and MG3 Development Group Principal Hernan Leonoff
Rendering of the charter school and MG3 Development Group Principal Hernan Leonoff

UPDATED Wednesday 19 12:12 p.m.: Financing the development of charter schools with EB-5 funds may just be the next big thing in real estate.

MG3 Development Group recently scored a $30 million loan from an affiliate of GreenAccess, an EB-5 investment facilitator, to help fund the construction of a charter school west of Delray Beach.

County records show the loan covers roughly 24 acres of agricultural land along Lyons Road, north of Happy Hollow Road in unincorporated Palm Beach County.

This is the first and last round of financing for the school from MG3. According to GreenAccess’s website, the funds — sourced from 60 foreign investors — cover nearly the entirety of the project’s expected $38 million cost.

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The lender has put together EB-5 financing packages for 10 charter schools in the past. Other sections of the GreenAccess’s lending portfolio are password protected on its website.

MG3’s planned 153,000-square-foot charter school campus is expected to have room for 2,245 K-12 students and has an opening date slated for August 2017. County commissioners approved the project early last year.

Under the EB-5 program, foreign nationals can invest $500,000 in a job-producing project stateside in exchange for an immigration visa. Though controversial, Congress recently extended the program without reforms until December.

Correction: A previous version of this article, citing information from GreenAccess, stated the project’s expected cost was $34.5 million. The expected cost is actually $38 million.