Experienced and aspiring Real Estate developers have a generational opportunity to build projects that support communities and increase capacity. If you already work in or would like to work in Opportunity Zones, we’d like to talk about partnering. Whether it’s providing equity funding, development support, or exposure, we can help you take your project across the line. Here’s what we’re looking for:

Value-Add Projects: Opportunity Zones were designed to create investment and development of under-resourced neighborhoods. In order to dissuade investor from simply buying existing assets and sitting on them, the legislation requires that real estate projects meet a 1:1 additional capital test. This is based on the value of the existing structure vs. the entire acquisition cost of a project. Think of it this way. If a fund buys a warehouse for $1 million, and the value of the land is $400,000 and the value of the existing structure is $600,000, the fund would need to put in another $600,000 of renovation/redevelopment dollars for the project to qualify. This means that stabilized assets (apartment buildings that are fully rented, retail buildings with a long term-lease, etc) are not good opportunities for an Opportunity Fund (Although they may be good deals for someone).

Deal Quality: Being in an Opportunity Zone doesn’t make a bad deal good. Investors in Opportunity Funds are looking to make money. They’re not going to be able to do that by buying overpriced properties, even with the tax advantages. In talking with potential sellers, it’s a good idea to set realistic expectations.

Additional Incentives: Many states and municipalities are striving to take maximum advantage of the program by adding additional incentives for things like low-income housing, workforce development, grocery stores in food deserts, and other needed services and amenities. Often, the inclusion of these incentives can make the difference between a deal working and not working. Understanding the local incentives and creating relationships with your local Economic Development Agency can create huge opportunities to find and create great projects.

Community Benefit: In many jurisdictions, there is a significant community input requirement before a project gets approved. Understanding a community’s needs and wants is a great step to understanding how a piece of property can help support neighborhoods and communities. We’re looking to support projects that provide meaningful, sustainable returns to the members of the communities in which we work, as well as our investors.

Project Type: We know that the best people to determine what a community needs are in the community. Through our staff and partners, we have a wealth of knowledge of markets and projects, from retail to multifamily to hospitality. While lee believe massive change can be achieved through large town center projects, we know that neighborhood scale development, done right, can also be hugely impactful to people’s outcomes.

If you’re working in an Opportunity Zone, and would like to have our development review it, please  submit it using the form below