CIM Group is partnering with entrepreneur John Hope Bryant and his Bryant Group Ventures on a new impact-driven fund run by CIM-BGV Impact Ventures. The fund is aimed at creating and preserving up to $1 billion in affordable housing investments in underserved markets across the U.S.
The partnership’s CIM-BGV Affordable Housing Impact Fund recently completed its first closing, securing more than $250 million in total investment capacity through fund equity and access to loan capacity.
Anchor investors include Flagstar Bank and Truist Bank, with additional equity support from City National Bank and other financial institutions. The investments signal institutional support for the impact-driven fund’s mission to address affordable housing shortages.
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While the amount of their investments was not disclosed, CIM-BGV Impact Ventures is designed to offer Community Reinvestment Act credit opportunities for U.S. financial institutions. Leaders of Flagstar, Truist and City National said investments in the fund enable their banks to expand CRA engagements in local communities and advance housing stability through an innovative partnership.
Last month’s closing positions the fund to achieve its target of reaching $1 billion in total capacity for affordable housing investments within a year. The partnership plans to invest in opportunities that create and preserve affordable multifamily housing primarily through the acquisition of existing properties as well as ground-up development.
CIM-BGV Impact Ventures plans to deploy capital in markets where CIM and BGV have an existing presence and where affordability has declined. Key metros to be targeted include New York City, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Los Angles. The AHIF has a deep pipeline of opportunities and expects to begin closing transactions in those markets as well as others in Southern California, Georgia and Florida.
The fund does not currently have a stated target number of affordable housing units it hopes to restore or create, a fund spokesperson told Multi-Housing News.
“It depends on many variables, so it is nearly impossible to state accurately with an anticipated $1 billion to invest,” the spokesperson said.
Closer look at the partnership
The partnership combines Los Angeles-based CIM Group’s expertise in real estate, credit and infrastructure with John Hope Bryant’s track record of business and investment experience, inclusive economic growth and financial empowerment.
Bryant Group Ventures is the primary platform tied to John Hope Bryant Enterprises, a family of companies, organizations and associated enterprises founded by Bryant, an entrepreneur and philanthropist. His associated ventures are responsible for more than $4 billion in deployed capital in underserved communities across the country.
Since its founding in 1994, CIM has delivered more than $60 billion of real estate and infrastructure projects. The firm is an owner, operator, lender and developer, and it has been active in revitalizing underserved urban areas throughout the U.S. Avi Shemesh, a CIM principal and one of the firm’s three co-founders, is taking an active role in the fund.
The partnership is also focused on providing access to programs that support financial literacy education and promote long-term financial security and well-being.
Bryant has worked with CIM Group in the past. The philanthropist is part of a co-investor group in the $5 billion Centennial Yards mixed-use project that aims to revitalize downtown Atlanta. CIM Group is redeveloping 50 acres in Atlanta known as the Gulch with residential, retail and entertainment offerings through a partnership with the City of Atlanta.
The firm also recently delivered The Mitchell, a 304-unit market-rate multifamily building, and a 292-key hotel is slated for delivery later this year. The Mitchell is the second residential community at Centennial Yards. The Lofts at Centennial Yards offers 162 units, including 25 affordable apartments, above the Wild Leap brewery. The Centennial Yards project is not part of the CIM-BGV Impact Ventures partnership or AHIF.
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