NEW YORK, NY - Citi Community Capital and Rose Investments, a division of Jonathan Rose Companies, today announced the launch of a $75 million fund which will make transformative investments in multifamily affordable housing along the Eastern seaboard. The Rose Green Cities Fund LLC will acquire and renovate existing multifamily properties with cost-effective, high-impact green technologies, and preserve their affordability for the long-term. The Fund will also evaluate select investments in the development of new, green, affordable housing. The Fund will target projects in high-demand, mass-transit accessible locations, focusing on locations in Connecticut, New Jersey and the Washington, D.C. metro area.
This commitment by Citi Community Capital represents the latest in a series of transactions through which Citi has brought significant capital and an innovative approach to solving some of the most pressing community development issues in the country, such as the lack of quality, sustainable affordable housing. In the past two years, Citi has committed nearly $9.4 billion in community development activities including the creation and rehabilitation of 57,000 units of housing, all of which have an affordable component in the apartment complex. Other activities include healthcare centers and education facilities to promote jobs and quality living in the communities Citi serves.
The Rose Green Cities Fund leverages the expertise of Jonathan Rose Companies as a leading national developer, investor and fund manager with deep experience in green, urban affordable and mixed-income housing. Citi’s investment represents the latest institutional equity invested with Rose , confirming investors’ appetite for double bottom line strategies that enable them to “do well by doing good” and repairing the fabric of communities. Rose Investments relationships include other major financial institutions as well as leading foundations and family offices.
“We are thrilled to partner with Citi, a global institution with a commitment to back innovative, community-based investment strategies,” said Jonathan F.P. Rose, founder of Jonathan Rose Companies. “In today’s volatile market, investments in affordable housing, especially in high-demand/high-cost markets, can provide a great opportunity to generate attractive, low-risk returns. At the same time, these investments are fostering more resilient communities.”
"Jonathan Rose Companies has a track record as a successful investor and developer of affordable housing and we are delighted to partner with them," said Andrew Ditton, Co-Head and Managing Director of Citi Community Capital. “Environmental sustainability and reinvestment in the communities where we work and live are both pivotal components to our Firm’s commitment to responsible finance and we will continue to invest in high-quality, innovative projects that benefit our local communities and uphold our core principles.”
“Both Jonathan Rose Companies and Citi have rich histories in affordable housing investment,” said Wendy Rowden, Managing Director of Rose Investments. “Our experience is that the green preservation of affordable housing is a fundamentally smart investment. Green retrofits can reduce costs for both tenants and owners, generate reasonable paybacks, hedge against rising energy prices and mitigate environmental impacts.”
According to Nathan D. Taft, Director of Acquisitions for Rose Investments, the Fund is pinpointing projects and portfolios from $25 to $50 million of total capitalization, with a special focus on Section 8, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and expiring use assets in need of renovation. Mr. Taft added, “We have a number of promising projects already in the pipeline, and we are actively seeking new opportunities.”
Jonathan Rose Companies LLC is an award-winning real estate investment, development, planning and project management firm whose mission is to repair the fabric of communities. The firm is nationally-recognized for its ability to achieve visionary goals through practical, low-cost strategies. A leading green urban solutions provider, Jonathan Rose Companies currently manages the development of over $1.5 billion of real estate projects from offices in New York, Connecticut, Colorado, the Pacific Northwest and New Mexico.
Citi Community Capital is a premier financial partner with nationally recognized expertise in financing all types of affordable housing and community reinvestment projects. Citi Community Capital's origination, structuring, asset and risk management staff across the country provides creative financing solutions designed to meet their clients' needs. Citi Community Capital helps community development financial institutions, real estate developers, national intermediaries and nonprofit organizations achieve their goals through a broad, integrated platform of debt and equity offerings.