New York-based affordable housing investor, Fairstead, has announced a new $500 million equity commitment from investors to expand the company’s operations.
Since its founding in 2014, Fairstead has acquired or developed more than $4 billion of multi-family properties and is currently working on a pipeline of $2.3 billion in new acquisitions across the country including Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.
The new capital will fund an expansion on its multi-family portfolio and enhance the firm’s prop tech, sustainability, and community impact programming for its affordable, workforce and market rate housing residents across the country.
Fairstead CEO Jeff Goldberg said the equity – from the firm’s “key investors”- comes as federal legislators continue to debate the need for investments in housing to combat the national affordability crisis.
“The lack of quality housing is one of the most important issues facing our nation today,” said Goldberg. “Those of us at the forefront of this crisis recognize that expanding capacity is only part of the solution. We must commit the financial resources to create sustainable housing, invest in prop tech solutions to future proof our industry, and collaborate with our community and government leaders to develop impactful programming that will strengthen our neighborhoods and revitalize our cities.”
The company has hired former Citibank director Tricia Yarger to head up its capital markets team. The investment banking veteran will manage all of the firm’s debt and equity relationships while helping outside capital partners direct their investments into Fairstead properties.
It is also amping up its proptech portfolio with its venture capital arm looking for “synergistic partnerships … that will help cities become more sustainable and resilient.”
Earlier this month, Fairstead made an investment in Enviro Power, an energy tech company focused on transforming existing heating infrastructure into an energy platform with its SmartWatt Boiler technology, a boiler that generates onsite electricity at nearly zero-cost and provides backup power.
In addition to funding this technology and sitting on Enviro Power’s board of directors, Fairstead is evaluating the deployment of the systems at select properties throughout its portfolio.
