Aegon Real Assets US has closed on its first multifamily residential real estate development located within a designated opportunity zone (OZ).
The $60 million development, a joint venture between Aegon RA and a subsidiary of Kemper Corp., is located in downtown Sacramento, Calif., one of 34 select metro areas that Aegon RA's proprietary analysis has deemed an attractive OZ market.
This deal is the first development within Aegon RA's OZ investment strategy, which was launched in January 2019, and is a key component of Aegon RA's multifamily real estate equity platform.
"Aegon RA currently manages a $2.7 billion portfolio of multifamily assets located in OZs, which positions us as a uniquely qualified OZ sponsor," said Philip J. McAndrews, Head of Real Estate Equity. "Investing in OZs is one of several key initiatives we are implementing to expand our real estate equity platform."
Aegon RA is a recognized leader within the tax-advantaged private real estate market, with over 30 years of experience in financing, developing and managing multifamily residential assets within economically-distressed communities across the US. Through its national low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) business, the firm has acquired over $4.8 billion of tax credit real estate private equity investments since 1987 and helped create over 120,000 units of affordable housing in all 50 states. Aegon RA manages 430 LIHTC partnerships and has funded $7.7 billion in multifamily loans since 2007.
"Our entrance into the OZ space is made possible in large part by the firm's long history and experience in multifamily investing via the LIHTC platform. Through our deep relationships with developers and local businesses, we established a robust pipeline of potential multifamily acquisition targets, a good deal of which are located in OZ markets. The OZ initiative supports our firm-wide commitment to responsible investing whereby we can help spur investment and housing development in OZ communities," said Christoph Gabler, co-head of Aegon RA.
