Affiliated Development has launched an impact investment fund to invest in mixed-income workforce housing throughout South and Central Florida. The $125 million Affiliated Housing Impact Fund will provide equity capital to finance the real estate developer’s pipeline of workforce housing projects and investments.
The fund’s overall investment objective is to generate a positive social and environmental impact as well as delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns for investors. The strategy is to capitalize the development of high-quality and green multifamily housing at attainable rents. Affiliated Development principals Jeff Burns and Nick Rojo will be the sole general partners and managers of the fund.
“Over 60% of renters in the South Florida area are cost-burdened, meaning they pay more than 30% of their income on rent. Most South Florida residents are forced to either allocate too much income toward rent, live with one or more roommates, or move away from major employment centers in order to find reasonably priced housing,” said Burns. “The tremendous demand for attainably priced housing in South Florida has been compounded by the influx of new residents and businesses migrating to the area. We feel a sense of responsibility to work alongside local government to help find solutions to this growing issue.”
Affiliated Development, based in Fort Lauderdale, specializes in public-private partnerships and has a track record of completing workforce housing projects in South Florida. The fund has the requisite capital commitments for an initial closing scheduled this month. Committed investors include the Fort Lauderdale Police and Firefighters’ Retirement System, West Palm Beach Police Pension Fund, Hollywood Police Pension Fund, Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund, Miramar Police Pension Fund, and a locally based family office.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with local public pension funds. We see an inherent alignment of interest with our pension partners who can reinvest capital back into the community while providing housing for their contributors and the local workforce,” added Rojo. “Having discretionary capital also provides us the flexibility to move quickly and take advantage of opportunities while focusing on what we do best, which is executing.”