A joint venture called the Essential Housing Impact Partnership has purchased 22 affordable housing complexes in Wisconsin for $279.5 million, according to state records.
The acquisition is part of a $1.2 billion, 90-property portfolio deal spanning the entire country, according to a press release. The Essential Housing Impact Partnership joint venture includes New Jersey-based
The Michaels Organization, the Urban Investment Group within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and the Community Development Trust (CDT).
The acquired properties consist of communities developed and rehabilitated primarily with federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), most of which are near or at the end of their required affordable initial compliance period. The release states that the "acquisition of these communities ensures the long-term reinvestment and preservation of more than 10,000 apartment homes affordable to families and seniors with low and moderate incomes."
“We are proud to be part of this joint venture designed to preserve these essential housing resources, ensuring they remain community assets for generations to come,” said John J. O’Donnell, chief executive officer of The Michaels Organization in the release.
The properties, which were all acquired from Georgia-based
Harmony Housing and managed by Greystone Property Management Corp. (GPMC), stretch across eight states -- Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin. All 90 communities acquired by the Essential Housing Impact Partnership will now be managed by Michaels.
The Wisconsin properties are largely located in southeastern Wisconsin, with a handful of properties in the Madison area, and a few others in Brown, Eau Claire, Portage, Wood, and Winnebago counties.
Five of the properties are in Milwaukee County. They include the Park East Enterprise Lofts at 1401-1407 N. Martin L. King Jr. Drive, Milwaukee, which sold for $9.5 million, and the Knitting Factory Lofts, 2100 W. Pierce St., Milwaukee, which sold for $5 million, among others.
There were also two properties acquired in the city of Racine, including The Mitchell Wagon Lofts at 815 Eighth St., which sold for $8.13 million.
All told, the Wisconsin deal includes 3,133 affordable housing units.
Michaels is the largest privately held owner of affordable housing in the country.
