AUSTIN, TX - Comunidad Partners, a minority and women-owned real estate investment firm that specializes in workforce and affordable housing communities in culturally diverse neighborhoods, has recently been selected as an awardee for Freddie Mac’s newly created Impact Sponsor Award.
The purpose of this new award, established by Freddie Mac, is to reward and incentivize sponsors that move the needle on creating and preserving affordable housing coupled with tenant advancement.
“Being awarded Freddie Mac’s Impact Sponsor of the Year recognition is truly an immense honor,” says Antonio Marquez, Managing Partner at Comunidad Partners. “This award speaks to the commitment by Freddie Mac to bringing housing and social impact resident services to those in underserved communities and enhances our ability to serve our impact housing mission through our partnership together.”
In September 2021, Comunidad Partners secured a $300 million financing commitment through Bellwether Enterprises and Freddie Mac that supports the creation or preservation of affordable workforce housing throughout the United States. The unique initiative was backed by Freddie Mac’s Tenant Advancement Commitment, which offers competitive financing to operators who agree to maintain or enhance affordability and provide supportive resident services for the duration of the loan purchased by Freddie Mac.
Anthony Tarter, Executive Vice President and Director of Workforce Housing and Social Impact for Bellwether, says: “Team Tarter and Bellwether Enterprises are humbled to have our good friends and client, Comunidad Partners, be named Inaugural Impact Sponsor of the Year for 2021 by Freddie Mac. Bellwether Enterprises has closed over $1 billion with Comunidad in the past few years and recently established a $300 million Master Financing Commitment that includes Social Impact initiatives. Comunidad is pioneering and paving the way for Social Impact Investing by implementing social services for residents.
Tarter adds that he and his team are honored to partner with a multifamily operator who sees residents as their greatest asset.
“They are innovating and creating a space in the market that is much needed, and selflessly hoping others will follow suit,” continues Tarter. “We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Antonio Marquez and the entire Comunidad team for their efforts and leadership in this space.”
“We are excited to name Comunidad Partners as the 2021 Impact Sponsor awardee because the firm collaborates with Freddie Mac in sharing data and strategy, utilizing our Tenant Advancement Commitment, and maintaining a keen focus on tenant social services and affordability – all of which are key components of the essence of this award,” says Alexis Sofyanos, Senior Director, Equity in Multifamily Housing Group at Freddie Mac. “We look forward to our continued relationship for many years to come.”
Comunidad specializes in revitalizing affordable and workforce apartments in infill locations and implementing its specialized cultural management platform, which includes cultural upgrades, community investment initiatives, and ESG / social impact programs. Social programming in its communities includes such elements as virtual health care, ESL classes, job fairs, health and wellness programs, soccer clinics, and after-school programs, among many others.
According to Alexandra Chardell, Manager, Equity in Multifamily Housing Group at Freddie Mac, the company plans to release an application to the broader market for its 2022 Impact Sponsor cohort.
“We are looking forward to expanding this new Impact Sponsor award in 2022, she said. “Details on the application and next steps will be available in the coming months.”
About Comunidad Partners: Comunidad Partners is a dynamic, vertically-integrated real estate investment firm specializing in workforce and affordable housing in culturally diverse communities throughout the United States. The firm is proudly a 100% minority- and women-owned firm and heavily focuses its investments activities on positively impacting communities through its ESG practices and its corporate culture of diversity, equity, & inclusion. The firm has been a market leader in ESG for over a decade and received national recognition on its ESG practices from Fannie Mae, SAHF/CORES, and recently was named Freddie Mac’s Impact Sponsor of the Year. Core to its investment strategy is creating culturally-relevant, inclusive communities that are tailored to the specific needs and wants of the diverse residents living at the communities it serves.
About Freddie Mac: Freddie Mac Multifamily is the nation's multifamily housing finance leader. Historically, more than 90% of the eligible rental units we fund are affordable to families with low-to-moderate incomes earning up to 120% of area median income. Freddie Mac securitizes about 90% of the multifamily loans it purchases, thus transferring the majority of the expected credit risk from taxpayers to private investors. Freddie Mac makes home possible for millions of families and individuals by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Since its creation by Congress in 1970, the company has made housing more accessible and affordable for homebuyers and renters in communities nationwide. Learn more at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMac and Freddie Mac's blog FreddieMac.com/blog.