MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Turner Impact Capital, one of the nation’s largest real estate investment firms dedicated to social impact, has expanded its efforts to address the country’s urgent housing affordability crisis with the acquisition of its first multifamily housing community in the Minneapolis metropolitan area.
Acquisition of the 207-unit Urbana Court Apartments in Brooklyn Park, Minn., closed today as one of the final investments of Turner Multifamily Impact Fund II. The purchase enables Turner Impact to bring its innovative market-driven housing solution for low- and moderate-income families to a fast-growing Minneapolis community with convenient access to job opportunities, healthcare, and schools.
The Turner Multifamily Impact Funds have acquired, preserved, and enriched approximately $2 billion of critically-needed housing for working individuals and families located in densely populated, ethnically diverse metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. These investments represent nearly 13,000 units of workforce housing nationwide, serving residents earning up to 80% of area median income while generating strong risk-adjusted financial returns for its institutional investors. Residents include community-serving professionals such as teachers, police officers, healthcare workers and others who often earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing but struggle to afford higher-cost housing located near job centers.
“As rents rise and recession concerns mount, we must ensure that working families have access to stable, affordable, and high-quality housing in major metropolitan areas,” Turner Impact CEO Bobby Turner said. “We continue to expand our housing initiatives, and Urbana Court presents an opportunity to bring our successful model to one of the most dynamic markets in the Midwest.”
Urbana Court is a newly built apartment complex with a large community center, 24-hour fitness center, pool, pickleball courts, playground, and underground heated parking. The units feature a wide range of appliances and full-size washers and dryers, and as part of Turner Impact’s sustainability initiatives, the Fund has identified ways to reduce energy and water use.
Minneapolis has the largest metropolitan economy in the region after Chicago, where Turner Impact also has significant housing investments. Brooklyn Park is located just north of the city, near the largest health-technology cluster in the country, known as medical alley, and major employers such as Medtronic, Target, and Amazon, as well as easy access to jobs in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Turner Impact’s holistic approach to workforce housing also entails enriching residents’ quality of life with demand-driven essential on-site services in education, health, safety, and other areas that help build a sense of community. These include after-school tutoring programs, exercise and nutrition classes, community watch programs, and more.
“We are excited to expand our impact to greater Minneapolis and are actively pursuing additional investments in the market,” said Gee Kim, President of Turner Impact’s Multifamily Housing Initiatives. “We welcome and look forward to opportunities to contribute in a meaningful way to the housing solution in this key part of the country.”
Housing initiatives are a core component of Turner Impact Capital’s holistic approach to social impact investing. Since 2016, Turner Impact has raised more than $650 million in equity for its first two housing funds – Turner Multifamily Impact Funds I and II – and has recently launched a third fund, Turner Multifamily Impact Fund III. The new Fund is the firm’s largest to date, targeting between $750 million and $1 billion in total commitments. The Fund has already received strong interest from both U.S. and international investors and will build on the work of its predecessor funds to preserve and enrich workforce housing through the acquisition of existing affordable rental housing at scale.
Turner Multifamily Impact Fund III will also pursue the development of new affordable housing through public-private partnerships, as well as opportunistic investments in and recapitalization of workforce housing projects resulting from market dislocations.
Turner Impact has recently accelerated its expansion by hiring Gary Rodney, a national housing leader, as Managing Director for Housing Initiatives. Rodney joined Turner Impact from Tishman Speyer, where he launched the firm’s first affordable housing platform, and earlier served as Chairman of CREA, a national syndicator of low-income housing tax credits, as well as President of the New York City Housing Development Corporation.