CanAm Enterprises (“CanAm”) is proud to announce that it has closed on an $18.4 million loan with Rhoads Industries, Inc. The loan will be used to complete the rehabilitation and fit-out of Building 57 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and to fund ongoing operations at the property. Building 57, a 311,000-square-foot heavy industrial facility, has unique specifications that enable Rhoads and its partners, including major defense contractors, to complete highly specialized fabrication activities for customers, including the U.S. Navy. This loan closing marks CanAm’s first closing after the passage of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, which became effective on May 14, 2022.
With the new EB-5 reform recently taking effect, CanAm is excited to hit the ground running with the closing of a project that embodies the very best qualities of the EB-5 program,” said CanAm President and CEO Tom Rosenfeld. “In partnership with an experienced borrower with deep local roots, this is an ideal EB-5 project that is creating jobs, revitalizing property, and serving the national interests – all at no cost to the taxpayer,” Rosenfeld said.
This loan closing marks the third time CanAm has collaborated with Rhoads Industries, with the two previous ventures being:
A $7 million EB-5 investment in Rhoads Industries to consolidate more than 200,000 square feet of fabricating shops and warehouses in three separate facilities around Philadelphia into a single complex at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, which created more than enough jobs for its EB-5 investors as confirmed by all filed I-829 petitions being approved.A $12 million EB-5 loan to help Rhoads Industries expand and double the size of its facility capabilities and generating job creation far exceeding the EB-5 program requirements.
These projects have since been fully repaid to all CanAm investors. To date, the CanAm PIDC Regional Center has raised $715 million in EB-5 loans for 31 new commercial enterprises, of which, 28 projects were repaid in full.
The financing being provided with the current investment will complete crucial upgrades to shipping bays operating within Rhoads’ facility, support the building and testing of component parts to the U.S. Navy’s nuclear defense programs, and provide infrastructure support of the U.S. Defense Department’s nuclear submarine program. This loan is funded by 23 CanAm EB-5 program investors, and the number of qualifying jobs for EB-5 eligibility – 1,260 – are on track to be created in the coming months.
Founded and family-owned since 1896, Rhoads provides heavy industrial fabrication, installation and maintenance for commercial and government contracts. “Dan Rhoads is a business owner who understands the power of EB-5 financing and has leveraged it to help local Philadelphians and expand the City’s ambitious development plan for the Navy Yard,” said Rosenfeld, who shares Philadelphia roots with Dan Rhoads, the company’s owner and CEO. “CanAm is thrilled to be part of the Rhoads success story and to play a role in the larger Navy Yard success story.”
“The strength behind our relationship with Rhoads and other high quality project borrowers is a big reason why CanAm has earned the faith and trust of our EB-5 investors. Experience and integrity matter; having close alliances with strong partners like Rhoads and the City of Philadelphia makes it possible to deliver on our promises,” Rosenfeld said.
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (EB-5 Program) is administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The EB-5 Program provides qualified foreign investors with the opportunity to earn a conditional, or temporary, two-year green card in return for investing $800,000 in projects located in high unemployment areas that create at least ten permanent full-time jobs for U.S. workers.
