Goldman Sachs’ Urban Investment Group has committed USD23m to a new fund sponsored by Jonathan Rose Companies’ investment practice.
The fund, Rose New Jersey Green Affordable Housing Preservation Fund, will acquire existing, CRA-eligible affordable housing in mass-transit accessible locations throughout New Jersey, with a focus on Hudson and Essex Counties.
The fund will improve assets through a “green” capital improvement and operations programme, seeking to replicate the success of 107-145 West 135th Street in Harlem, New York, a portfolio asset of the Rose Smart Growth Investment Fund which has become a model for the greening and preservation of affordable housing.
It will obtain third-party verification of its work through LEED or Enterprise Green Community Standards.
The fund builds upon Jonathan Rose Companies’ commitment to New Jersey. The firm is currently master planner to the cities of Newark and Morristown and has served as programme manager for the Housing Authority of the City of Elizabeth’s 2004 HOPE VI revitalisation plan.
“We are delighted to be working with Goldman Sachs and continue our efforts to benefit the lower-income families of New Jersey. Lower-income families spend a disproportionate share of their income on housing, home energy and transportation. There is an increasing need for quality affordable housing in urban areas, near convenient forms of mass-transit,” says Jonathan F.P. Rose, president of Jonathan Rose Companies. “We are very excited about the opportunity to bring the economic, social and environmental benefits of green retrofits to affordable housing projects in New Jersey. Together with Goldman Sachs, we can have a meaningful impact on the lives of lower-income families.”
Urban Investment Group deploys the firm’s capital to help transform underserved US communities into sustainable and vibrant neighbourhoods of choice and opportunity. Since its inception in 2001, UIG has committed nearly USD1.2bn to revitalise underserved urban communities. This investment has facilitated the creation and preservation of approximately 9,000 housing units — 75 per cent of which are affordable to low, moderate and middle-income families — as well as 630,000 square feet of community facility and approximately 900,000 square feet of commercial and retail space.
“The Urban Investment Group has traditionally focused on affordable housing development, but also recognises the critical importance of affordable housing preservation,” says Alicia Glen, managing director and head of the Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs. “As part of our firm’s comprehensive approach to community and neighbourhood revitalisation, this fund will not only preserve affordable housing, but it will also improve the quality and environmental sustainability of New Jersey’s affordable housing stock. We are thrilled to launch this fund with our partners to help stabilise neighborhoods and communities in New Jersey and help keep it an affordable place to live.”
