Woodforest National Bank Makes $500K Equity Investment in Austin Housing Conservancy Fund for Affordable Housing

News provided by

Jan 12, 2022, 09:00 ET

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Woodforest National Bank® (Woodforest) announced today it invested $500,000 of long-term patient capital into the Austin Housing Conservancy Fund (AHC), an Environmental Social Governance fund that preserves naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) for essential workers in the emerging Austin metropolitan area.

Melrose Trail in Austin, Texas is a joint venture with Austin Affordable Housing Corporation and Veritas Family Partners. This 183-unit property, located in North Austin close to the new Apple Campus is one example of naturally occurring affordable housing being renovated as part of the innovative Austin Housing Conservancy Fund. Melrose Trail, built in 1986 was recently renovated with partial exterior hardi-plank, paint, and modest interior upgrades.

AHC is a private equity fund focused on purchasing multi-family properties and preserving them as affordable housing for first responders, nurses, teachers, and creative workers in greater Austin. This innovative fund structure is owned and managed by the non-profit Affordable Central Texas, investment manager of AHC.

"Protecting what's special about this magical place requires we have affordable housing for Austin's first responders, nurses, teachers and creatives," said Mayor Steve Adler. He continued, "The Austin Housing Conservancy Fund, with generous investments from organizations like Woodforest National Bank, is preserving and targeting affordable workforce housing while revitalizing properties across the city that might otherwise be lost to gentrification."

David Steinwedell, President and CEO of Affordable Central Texas added, "As we enter the growth phase for the Austin Housing Conservancy, early support from investors like Woodforest National Bank provides meaningful leadership for the rest of the banking, foundation, and corporate community to support the fund. Significant investment is needed for us to hit our goal of 1,000 units preserved per year."

"Austin faces a dire shortage of housing for key members of its workforce. In response to this growing crisis, the city teamed up with AHC to conceive an innovative solution leveraging naturally occurring affordable housing. By preserving existing buildings the fund provides affordable options for local residents, and revitalization of the community. Woodforest is proud to be an anchor investor in this project," said Doug Schaeffer, Executive Vice President, CRA Executive Director, Woodforest National Bank.

AHC expects to apply Woodforest's investment toward their goal of purchasing 1,000 affordable multi-family housing units per year. The fund has participated in five acquisitions totaling over $180 million in value with 1,200 units serving over 1,800 residents. Since acquisition, the fund has doubled the number of children as residents, introduced Housing Choice vouchers, and added programs and services targeted toward the needs of tenants while ensuring no displacement to existing residents.

About Woodforest National Bank
Celebrating 40 years of community banking service, Woodforest National Bank has successfully stood among the strongest community banks in the nation, proudly offering outstanding customer service since 1980. Woodforest currently operates over 760 branches in 17 states across the United States and is an Outstanding CRA-rated institution. For more information about Woodforest National Bank, please visit www.woodforest.com.

About Austin Housing Conservancy
Affordable Central Texas (ACT) is a 501 (c)(3) and is the sponsor and investment manager of the Austin Housing Conservancy Fund. ACT was formed in 2016 by a group of highly experienced Austin real estate, finance, and affordable housing professionals to ensure Austin's workforce can afford to live in greater Austin by building a scalable social impact fund to preserve well located multi-family apartment properties for long-term affordability as well as provide programs to build community and improve resident outcomes.

SOURCE Woodforest National Bank