New Investments Provide Needed Affordable Housing Options In Downtown Phoenix

PHOENIX, Aug. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The growing need for affordable housing near Downtown Phoenix is being addressed by three apartment projects that combine affordability with amenities.

Pacific Oak Capital Advisors, a national leader in institutional quality alternative investments, and Defer Gain, a leading Arizona-based real estate development company specializing in Opportunity Zone investments, have announced the signing of a joint venture arrangement to develop, finance, and operate multi-family, commercial, and industrial income producing properties in Arizona Opportunity Zones.

The Pacific Oak - Defer Gain joint venture is kicking off its union with three multi-family projects in the Downtown Phoenix's Presidential District, including the 241-unit St. Ambrose Apartments and the 84-unit Presidential Apartments both situated between 11^th and 12^th Streets and Van Buren and Jefferson Streets in Phoenix. Both projects are also strategically located next to the 12^th Street light rail stops.  The joint venture will also start construction in September 2019 on the work-force housing project known as the Imperial Apartments located near 20^th Street & Roosevelt in Phoenix.

The Imperial Apartments breaks ground next month, and will be Arizona's premier, and much needed, work-force housing project located in the heart of the Edison Eastlake Choice Neighborhoods, which has begun a $150 million redevelopment project.  The 140 unit private project will join the addition of 1,100 new City of Phoenix housing units, propelled by a $30 million federal grant recently awarded to the Choice Neighborhood.   

"The Imperial Apartments is located directly across from the soon to be expanded Edison Park, which is a significant amenity in the neighborhood," said Michael Lafferty, Partner at Defer Gain. "We are excited to bring affordable, high quality, housing solutions to this fantastic neighborhood and be a part of its transformation with the City of Phoenix and Edison Eastlake stakeholders."

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego commented, "Adding quality housing is a top priority for our city.  I am excited to see new housing, including much-needed workforce units, near our key job corridors in the downtown and airport area."

Defer Gain's two Presidential District projects, St. Ambrose and Presidential Apartments, will continue co-founders Mr. Lafferty and Scott Tonn's efforts to provide housing solutions in the area east of 7^th Street near the City of Phoenix's 12th Street Light Rail Station. "Defer Gain is one of the first developers to offer high-amenity efficiency apartment living in Downtown Phoenix," said Tonn, a Defer Gain Partner and Co-Founder. "As well, we are very excited to implement the benefits of the newly minted Opportunity Zone legislation in conjunction with the local community to make St. Ambrose and Presidential Apartments significant additions for the neighborhood. This collaboration will also provide new residents with access to a dynamic job market in Downtown Phoenix."

"It's exciting to see Opportunity Zone developments providing support to a critical component of our state's economy — the workforce," said Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority. "We thank Pacific Oak and Defer Gain for advancing these three projects in downtown Phoenix neighborhoods."

Positioned at the 12th street light rail stops, both the Presidential and St. Ambrose Apartments are just one stop from Downtown Phoenix and three stops to Sky Harbor Airport.  Both properties boast state-of-the-art amenities including luxurious lobbies, mail rooms including secured lockers for packages, grocery delivery cold/ freezer storage, clubhouses, multi-purpose rooms, private conference rooms, exercise facilities, resort style swimming pools, cabanas with private BBQ's, secured ingress/egress, great walkability & easy access to public transportation.  In addition, the Presidential Apartments offers large format on-site personal locker storage.  While both properties feature street level retail/mixed-use opportunities, the Presidential Apartments will additionally include three open-air areas on Jefferson Street, adjacent to the light rail stop, which will attract local artists, pop-up businesses, food trucks, and events open to the public.

"The collaboration between Pacific Oak Capital Group and Defer Gain will provide us a unique opportunity to penetrate the Arizona Opportunity Zone market," commented Keith Hall, Co-founder of Pacific Oak. "We are delighted to be in partnership with Defer Gain's team and look forward to being a dominant force in the Arizona OZ space for years to come."

About Pacific Oak Capital Markets Group

Pacific Oak Capital Markets Group distributes institutional quality investments to financial advisors and their clients. Pacific Oak's mission is to match capital with opportunity through a broad range of alternative investments, including Real Estate Offerings, a Private Equity fund, DST's, tax-advantaged real estate investments, and other private offerings, all available through seasoned investment professionals. 

Pacific Oak was formed in 2018 as a spin-off from KBS Holdings. Pacific Oak's founders, Keith Hall and Peter McMillan, are two of the Co-Founders of KBS Capital Advisors and KBS Capital Markets Group, which was formed in 2005 and raised over $7 billion of capital in 13 years. During that time, KBS Capital Advisors transaction volume exceeded $15 billion of real estate equity and debt. Peter McMillan serves as Chairman of KBS Strategic Opportunity REITs I & II. Keith Hall is CEO of KBS Strategic Opportunity REITs I & II. In addition, Keith and Peter launched Keppel-KBS U.S. REIT, a Singapore-based Real Estate Investment Trust that has been publicly traded since 2017.

To learn more about Pacific Oak Capital Markets Group, please visit http://www.pacificoakcapital.com/.

About Defer Gain

Defer Gain is a leading Arizona-based real estate development company specializing in Opportunity Zone investments.  Defer Gain's mission is to guide investor's capital gains into quality investments to maximize preferred returns and tax deferred appreciation.

Defer Gain was formed in 2018, by Co-Founders Michael Lafferty, Scott Tonn, Jay Gold and Joshua Duke. Defer Gain's management team has over 100 years of experience in real estate development, renewable energy, and construction in complex environments over the course of numerous economic cycles.  Defer Gain's seasoned professionals are experienced owning, operating, and managing companies creating thousands of jobs in Arizona and other markets.

Defer Gain continues to pursue high quality QOZ zone projects in AZ and is currently accepting investments in a 108 room Comfort Inn Hotel located along the 101 freeway at Talking Stick.

To learn more about Defer Gain, please visit https://defergain.com/.

Media Contact:

Michael Scerbo
(602) 615-6523
[email protected]

SOURCE Defer Gain, LLC; Pacific Oak Capital Advisors, LLC

Related Links

http://www.defergain.com/