Yard 56 Opens in Baltimore, Maryland Opportunity Zone

Baltimore-based developer and MCB Real Estate President, David Bramble, opened Yard 56 earlier this week, a mixed-use project seven years in the making. The project utilized environmental tax credits, New Market tax credits, and Opportunity Zone equity from Prudential Financial.

“In the next phase of Opportunity Zones we should start to see more deals like [Yard 56],” said MCB President David Bramble. “Now you have companies that never would have looked at, say, 21217, where I live, or other ZIP codes, who are now saying, ‘I should look in this neighborhood because if I can find a deal and make it work, I can potentially bring in Opportunity Zone capital.’ It’s making people look.” 

Additionally, two workforce and affordable housing developments were announced in Opportunity Zones in Georgia and Washington state with almost 900 new units combined.

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31-Story, 445 Unit Teachers and Seniors Affordable Housing Project Planned in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia Opportunity Zone 

New Jersey-based developer RBH Group announced its plan to develop a 31-story, 445-unit teachers and seniors affordable housing project in a downtown Atlanta, Georgia Opportunity Zone. Teachers Village-Seniors Village Atlanta will feature 229 units for teachers, 140 of which will be reserved for residents making between 60 and 80 percent of the area median income.

The rest of the units will be reserved for seniors (ages 55 and up). The project, owned by RBH Atlanta OZ, is poised to attract further Opportunity Zone investments. “We are excited to bring our brand of social impact, Teachers Village, to Atlanta,” RBH Group founder and CEO Ron Beit said in a statement to What Now Atlanta.

8-Story Development Planned for Seattle’s Chinatown-International District Opportunity Zone

OZ Navigator, a partnership between Housing Diversity Corp. and Nitze-Stagen, announced earlier this week its plan to develop an 8-story, 425-unit development in a Seattle Chinatown-International District Opportunity Zone. Units will be available for tenants making between $42,000-$55,000 per year.

“One of the best things about the opportunity zones is they give us an opportunity to reduce some of the risk in the project with something other than having to push rents,” said Brad Padden, OZ Navigator Principal. This development will be OZ Navigator’s sixth Opportunity Zone project. OZ Navigator hopes to have the development entitled by October 22, with project completion in 2024. 

Monllor Capital Partners LLC Launches Puerto Rico Opportunity Zone Fund

Monllor Capital Partners LLC, a minority-owned asset management and advisory firm based in San Juan, Puerto Rico announced the launch of its first Opportunity Zone Fund.

“Over 95% of Puerto Rico is within a designated Qualified Opportunity Zone created under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, so the potential benefits to the economy of Puerto Rico are significant and can help bring much needed investment,” said Jose Torres, Managing Partner of Puerto Rico Opportunity Zone Fund, LP, whose fund has an initial target of $20 million to invest in Qualified Opportunity Zone Businesses. “Our investments will provide both economic and environmental benefits to the residents of Puerto Rico and its economy which have been hard hit by Hurricanes Maria and Irma, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.”