Noted entrepreneur and nonprofit leader John Hope Bryant is partnering with the firm behind the redevelopment of downtown Atlanta's Gulch on a new investment fund focused on affordable housing and community revitalization. CIM Group, the Los Angeles-based developer of Centennial Yards, and Bryant Group Ventures have formed a partnership to "address the immense need for affordable housing and to deliver community and economic value to underserved markets throughout the United States."
The partnership's first result is the CIM-BGV Affordable Housing Impact Fund, which recently closed more than $250 million in total investment capacity through fund equity and access to loans from major financial institutions. Truist Bank and Flagstar Bank are anchor investors. Bryant is also the founder of financial literacy nonprofit Operation HOPE and an investor in Centennial Yards.
The fund will invest in the creation and preservation of affordable multifamily housing primarily through the acquisition of existing properties as well as ground-up development. Initial key markets include Georgia (including Atlanta), Florida, Southern California, and the Washington, D.C., and New York metros, with transactions expected to close "within the next few months."
Affordable housing was a key part of CIM Group's incentive package from Atlanta officials for the redevelopment of the Gulch. Atlanta leaders in 2018 approved an incentive package of up to $1.9 billion to support the $5 billion project. CIM contributed $28 million to the city's affordable housing trust fund at the start, and agreed to set aside 20% of housing units within the project as affordable.
However, last year Centennial Yards Co. opted to pay the city nearly $8.5 million rather than reserve any apartments at rents affordable to lower-income residents in the 19-story Mitchell building — the first new tower erected as part of the $5 billion redevelopment of the 50-acre Gulch between the Five Points MARTA Station and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The company has stated it plans to add new affordable units at future towers.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
