Lafayette Square Appoints Veteran Real Estate Investor Onay Payne as Managing Director, Real Estate

NEW YORK, March 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lafayette Square, an impact investment platform, announced today that Onay Payne has been appointed Managing Director of Real Estate. In this newly created role, Payne will oversee the firm's real estate division, which will utilize long-term capital and coordinated services to support the revitalization of neighborhoods in historically marginalized communities through municipally significant redevelopments as well as the creation and preservation of affordable housing. Payne will also be a part of the investment committee that will oversee all of Lafayette Square's broader real estate activities including strategic joint ventures and inclusive real estate development.

Payne is a real estate veteran with over twenty-five years of industry experience. Prior to joining Lafayette Square, she was an equity partner, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Clarion Partners, a real estate investment firm with over $70 billion in assets under management. Over the course of her career at Clarion Partners, which began in 2003, Payne served in multiple investment roles with oversight of multiple commingled funds and separate accounts invested across all major property types and markets throughout the United States and Mexico, and also served on the Investment and Career Management Committees. Payne began her career within the investment banking division at JPMorgan Chase.

 "We are thrilled that Onay has joined Lafayette Square to build the third pillar of our impact investment platform," said Damien Dwin, founder and CEO of Lafayette Square. "Her background melds deep real estate investment expertise with a passion for creating positive impact in local communities."

"I share Damien's and the Lafayette Square team's vision in leveraging an impact-driven investment approach to make a lasting difference in communities that have historically been overlooked and undercapitalized," said Payne. "I'm honored to join such an innovative platform and help scale our real estate investment efforts to enact meaningful change in underserved areas."

Payne earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University (magna cum laude) and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where she was a Robert Toigo Foundation ("RTF") Fellow. She currently serves as Chair of the RTF Alumni Endowment Board and Chair of the Finance Committee of the board of the Mark Morris Dance Group. She is also a member of the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board; the Real Estate Executive Council; WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate; the Urban Land Institute, where she sits on the national Technology and Real Estate Council and the ULI NY Advisory Board; and the Advisory Board of Building Cyber Security.

Payne is a recognized leader within the real estate industry, having been selected as a member of Commercial Observer's 2021 Power Finance 50 list, featured in the Pace Common Ground Campaign for Gender Equality in 2017, inducted into Toigo Foundation's inaugural "40 Under 40" list in 2013, and featured in Real Estate Forum Magazine's "Women of Influence 2010".

About Lafayette Square 
Lafayette Square is an impact investment platform working locally to create an inclusive American economy. Our mission is to be the leading provider of impact-driven capital. We believe deploying capital and curating services will create economic opportunity for all. 

As we make investments, we work with a mission-aligned network to provide impactful services that improve the wellbeing of underserved people and communities. For more information about Lafayette Square, please visit www.lafayettesquare.com.

Media Contact:
Shree Dhond/Doug Allen
Dukas Linden Public Relations
646-722-6531
[email protected]

SOURCE Lafayette Square Holding Company