Recent Waveland Community Development Transactions

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Funded the construction of a 98,000-square-foot manufacturing facility to produce ultra high-density interconnect (UHDI) printed circuit boards (PCBs). These PCBs are used on satellites, various sensors, communication systems, radar systems and more. GreenSource’s areas of focus include the aerospace and defense industries. 

By building this new facility, GreenSource will create 50-100 full-time jobs, of which 84% will be accessible to those with no more than a high school diploma. In addition, the expansion will support the retention of 142 existing high-quality jobs in the community. 

A multi-CDE deal to finance the expansion and equipment upgrade of the Company’s cheese and whey processing facility in rural Perham, Minnesota. The facility upgrades allowed the facility initiate modern standards that allowed Bongards’ the ability to maintain its operating position, while supporting rural economic vitality through partnerships with local member farms.

  Bongards is a significant economic driver within the rural Perham community, employing over 140 individuals at its dairy processing facility. Bongards also serves as a major catalyst to surrounding rural regions through its partnerships with 267 member farmers, of which 98% are family farms. The project permitted Bongards to fully modernize its facility, maintain its operating position, and ensure rural economic vitality through support of its member farms and accessible job creation for the rural, low-income community.

This transaction financed the equipment purchases and building and infrastructure upgrades for the award winning Sartori cheese manufacturing facility located in Antigo, Wisconsin. The Project allowed Sartori to maintain its competitiveness and provide a safer work environment for its employees while increasing cheese production capacity by approximately 20%. Furthermore, the Project retained and created 120 net full-time employment positions. 100% of total jobs are quality positions, earning above a living wage with access to a comprehensive benefits package, and 97% of total direct jobs were made accessible to low-income persons. Upon stabilization, The project created 152 indirect jobs and supported an estimated 295 dairy farm jobs within the surrounding rural community.

This was Waveland Community Development's second transaction supporting Sartori.

  Waveland provided NMTC allocation to finance construction of the Biewer family’s southern yellow pine lumber facility. Biewer Lumber, a third-generation company operating in three states, had recently invested over $100 million to expand its fifth mill, limiting available capital for the subject Winona, Mississippi opportunity.

With support from state and local leaders, including Governor Tate Reeves, Biewer advanced the $150 million development. Construction delays, rising material costs and $5 million in additional greenfield infrastructure improvements—including rail installation—created a $7 million funding gap. Waveland leveraged an existing CDE relationship from a prior Alabama project to secure $25 million in total NMTC allocation to move the project forward.

In coordination with the Mississippi Development Authority, the 200,000 square foot project created 125 quality, low-income-accessible permanent jobs with starting wages 49% above the county living wage. Benefits include a 401(k) with a 5% company match, 85% employer-paid healthcare, tuition reimbursement, and advancement opportunities. Historically, 70% of Biewer’s management roles are filled internally.

  McNeilus Steel, a family-owned full-line steel service center with more than 75 years of operations, received NMTC financing from Waveland Community Development to support equipment, inventory, and working capital for its new 225,000-square-foot production facility in Morrison, TN, where unemployment is 1.78 times the national average. The facility sources much of its supply from nearby steel mills and processes two-thirds of the steel it distributes to customers across the Midwest in the manufacturing, construction, heavy equipment, energy, defense, truck trailer, and metal fabrication industries.

The project addresses local workforce challenges, including skill gaps, low educational attainment, and barriers to employment. In Morrison, only 23% of residents hold education beyond high school. The new jobs are targeted to local residents, 82% require no more than a high school diploma, and include in-house, on-the-job training – nurturing the Company’s historical approach of promoting from within. Positions offer full benefits including profit sharing, tuition reimbursement, and average annual wages of $50,300. The facility also created over 100 indirect jobs through the regional supply chain – estimated to pay $48,000 per year.

  Grassland Dairy Products is a 5-generation family-owned dairy processor. Waveland Community Development provided NMTC financing to support the construction and equipping of a new dairy dryer facility and expansion of the dairy intake in non-metro, Greenwood, WI. The project mitigated Grassland’s dependency on upon the highly perishable, highly volatile fluid milk market by enabling the option to produce longer shelf-life products. In 2016, Grassland faced a sudden change in demand for its fluid milk ingredients due to changes in the Canadian US dairy import policy, forcing Grassland to reduce its milk purchases from WI farmers. The new dryer facility doubles Grassland’s dryer dairy product capacity and increases the dairy intake capacity by 35%, restoring lost farming partnership and increasing farming partnerships by approximately 30%.

Grassland is a significant economic driver in the rural community employing over 300 individuals at the Greenwood location. The project ensured the viability of the facility’s operations long-term by positioning operations to withstand cycles of volatility and fostering quality and low-income accessible job creation for a rural low-income community with an area median income that is 76.1% of the area’s median.

  Huber Engineered Woods, a family-owned forestry company founded in 1941, received New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation from Waveland Community Development to construct and equip an oriented strand board (OSB) manufacturing facility in rural Shuqualak, Mississippi. Located in Noxubee County—a persistent poverty county where at least 20% of residents have lived in poverty for the past three decades—the project addresses significant economic challenges, including population decline, high poverty, and limited educational attainment.

According to the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District’s Comprehensive Economic Development Plan, Noxubee County experienced the region’s largest population loss (10.91%) as residents left for urban job opportunities. The county also has the state’s lowest percentage of college graduates (11.9%), a poverty rate of 31.1%, and unemployment at 2.37 times the national rate.

The project supports regional economic development priorities by creating jobs, supporting the housing/real estate supply chains, and generating new tax revenue. Local leaders, including the Executive Director of the North Mississippi Industrial Development Association, noted that new tax revenues will support public schools, workforce development programs, and critical infrastructure improvements, including broadband access