AMERICAN SOUTH REAL ESTATE FUND
About ASREF
The American South Real Estate Fund (the “Fund” or “ASREF”) provides mezzanine debt, preferred equity, and equity financing for real estate projects located in emerging low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in ten southern states.
ASREF is an impact fund having a Triple Bottom Line (“TBL”) investment strategy:
First Bottom Line:
Second Bottom Line:
Third Bottom Line:
Manager
SDS Capital Group (SDS)
SDS was founded in 2001 by Deborah La Franchi. SDS specializes in structuring and managing impact funds. These funds seek risk-adjusted market rates of return (the First Bottom Line), while also targeting positive economic and community development impacts (the Second Bottom Line) and environmental sustainability (the Third Bottom Line). SDS has over $1 billion of current and past impact assets under management, which includes its own portfolio of impact investments ($580 million) and those of third-party impact funds ($494 million) using SDS’ investment platform. For the fourth year in a row, SDS was named to Impact Assets 50, a select group of fund managers in the impact investing space.
Vintage Realty Company (Vintage)
Vintage is a 150-person, full-service commercial real estate firm headquartered in Shreveport, Louisiana, with a regional presence in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Mississippi. Vintage’s team manages the Fund’s originations, secures and structures all equity and debt, manages the construction process, and manages the assets. Vintage also has full-scale real estate brokerage and property management divisions. Vintage utilizes a comprehensive, integrated management approach that provides the opportunity to maximize value for its portfolio – as well as for its clients’ properties – throughout the asset lifecycle. Vintage has served as the developer for 3,811 multi-family units, with 2,914 units under its current management, and an additional 760 units currently under construction or in the development phase. Upon delivery of these new units, the Vintage portfolio will represent a market value of approximately $500 million. The integrity and vision of the founders has yielded the loyalty of employees, clients and investors. Vintage has been actively developing, managing and brokering real estate projects throughout the South since its inception in 1988.
IMPACT METRICS
Minority Sponsors
%
Average Poverty Rate of Communities Invested In
%
Average Minority Population
%
Average African American Population
# Low-Income Affordable Housing Units (84% of Total Units)
Our Team
Deborah La Franchi
Principal - Managing Partner
Ms. La Franchi has 22 years of investment experience and is the founder and CEO of SDS Capital Group — a national leader in impact investing with over $1 billion in assets under management. Each impact fund on SDS’s platform serves a different geography and employs a unique investment strategy, but they all generate positive impacts for low-income communities and people. Each fund either targets a risk-adjusted rate-of-return or provides capital at a below-market cost. Ms. La Franchi leads the structuring of each fund’s investment strategy, spearheads fundraising, oversees the senior managers of each fund and division, and participates on each fund’s investment committee. For four consecutive years, SDS has earned a spot on the ImpactAssets 50 (IA 50) list, which recognizes the leading impact fund managers in the world.
Outside of her work with SDS, Ms. La Franchi is the founder and board chair of Sustainable Communities Fund, which provides capital for small and micro loans to low-income and diverse entrepreneurs. She co-authored the DBL (Double Bottom Line) Handbook sponsored by the Ford Foundation and speaks regularly at investment and impact conferences. Before founding SDS, she served as Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan’s Assistant Deputy Mayor for Economic Development; she then went on to serve as the first CEO of Genesis LA, which launched the Genesis Family of Funds. She is a former director for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater L.A. and Secretary and Director of the National New Market Tax Credit Coalition.
Ms. La Franchi earned a BA in Political Science and History from UCLA, an MBA from UCLA, and an MPP from Georgetown University. She also holds a Series 65 license.David Alexander
Principal - Managing Partner
Mr. Alexander oversees operations and provides strategic direction for the Fund, particularly on the investment side. Mr. Alexander sits on the Investment Committee. Mr. Alexander is co-founder/Managing Partner of Vintage Realty Company; he co-founded the firm in 1988. He has more than 38 years of experience in commercial real estate and has directly structured equity and debt for more than $100M and $400M, respectively, for Vintage’s portfolio that has a current market value of approximately $600M. He has directed the growth of Vintage from a six -person management firm to more than 180 employees today, with expansive property management, investment and development divisions. He has led the development of numerous multifamily projects totaling 3,800 units throughout Louisiana and Arkansas, with another 1,050 units either under construction or in the development phase. Mr. Alexander is also co-developer of Provenance, a 377-acre Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND), as well as an 88-acre infill development with the Northwest Louisiana Community Development Fund I, which is Northwest Louisiana’s only Double Bottom Line Fund (“DBL”). Mr. Alexander is a member of the Shreveport and Bossier Chambers of Commerce, past Director of the Downtown Shreveport Development Corporation, and past Chairman of Shreveport’s Downtown Development Authority. Mr. Alexander graduated from Louisiana State University with a BS in Business Administration.Kip Hamilton
Managing Director
Mr. Hamilton oversees the day-to-day operations of the Fund and leads the investment and asset management teams. Mr. Hamilton sits on the Investment Committee. With over 23 years of experience in commercial real estate investment and development, Mr. Hamilton is responsible for the structuring, launch and management of SDS’ real estate funds. Prior to joining ASREF Mr. Hamilton was an industrial developer with Seventh Street Development, where he was responsible for acquisitions, financing, entitlements, leasing and asset management. Prior to Seventh Street, Mr. Hamilton served as Vice President with Shamrock Capital Advisors, where he helped manage the $85 million Genesis L.A. Real Estate Fund and the $104 million Genesis Real Estate Fund II. The Genesis L.A. Real Estate Fund was one of the first DBL private equity funds in the United States. The Genesis Funds provided equity and mezzanine debt for developers working in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in Southern California. Mr. Hamilton is a graduate of Columbia University where he majored in Economics and Japanese.Kent Peters
Senior Vice President
Mr. Peters serves as the day-to-day in-house point person at Vintage for ASREF and is responsible for piloting originations, due diligence, underwriting, structuring, transaction negotiations and closings for Fund investments. Mr. Peters brings over 23 years of real estate investment banking, capital markets, and structured finance experience to the role. Prior to joining ASREF, Mr. Peters was a principal at a boutique real estate firm and a Senior Vice President at CBRE with responsibilities for the evaluation, due diligence, underwriting, structuring, negotiation and closing of debt and equity placements on complex institutional assets across all product types including office, retail, mixed-use, multi-family, hotel, industrial, and corporate sale-leaseback. Mr. Peters has been involved in over $8 Billion in acquisition, disposition, and debt/equity capital market transactions on behalf of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), institutions, equity funds, private capital, and developers primarily in the Southeast and Southwestern United States. Mr. Peters earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Texas A&M University with a Masters degree in Real Estate Finance with a specialization in Land Economics and Real Estate.Laura Baron
CFO (CPA)
Ms. Baron oversees the Fund’s financial management and sits on the Investment Committee. Ms. Baron is engaged in all aspects of the SDS financial management process, including software applications, project analysis, capital deployment, and ensuring strict guidelines are followed for regulatory alignment and investor transparency. She developed the proprietary operational infrastructure that effectively manages SDS sponsored funds and SDS NMTC Advantage Services, which manages $396M for third-party fund clients. She currently manages assets in excess of $600M across the nation, actively monitoring the construction progress, financial performance and overall business health for each project under management. Prior to joining SDS, Ms. Baron spent 12 years in upper management roles and was involved in several funds with sizeable investment pipelines. As Director of Operations at Wilshire Associates, Ms. Baron built and managed the trading and compliance infrastructure for a $500M leveraged hedge fund. Ms. Baron earned a BA in economics from UCLA in addition to a MBA from the University of Southern California.Tyler Epps
Vice President
Mr. Epps, who works out of the Fund’s Atlanta office, leads ASREF’s originations and also assists in underwriting and asset management. Mr. Epps is responsible for the origination of middle market mezzanine debt and preferred equity investments on commercial real estate across all product types. Prior to joining ASREF, Mr. Epps spent three years at Rialto Capital and two years at Trimont Real Estate Advisors, overseeing more than $1B of commercial real estate across the United States in various investment funds. His responsibilities included the underwriting and asset management of all product types including hotels, retail, multi-family, industrial, and office properties. During his time at Rialto Capital, Mr. Epps also underwrote more than $3.5B of commercial real estate across all product types, from senior loans to direct equity investments. Mr. Epps earned an undergraduate degree from Georgia State University and a Masters of Business Administration from Georgia Tech.Sarah Parsons
Investment Committee Associate
Ms. Parsons joined Vintage Realty Company in February 2014 as a Property Manager in Multi-Family, managing a 208-unit apartment community. In October 2015, she joined the Commercial Property Management team as a Commercial Property Manager managing downtown and suburban office buildings as well as medical office buildings in North Louisiana. In 2019, she returned to the Multi-Family Department as Operations Manager. In 2021, she joined the ASREF II Investment Committee.
Prior to joining Vintage Realty, Sarah spent 20 years in the hotel/casino business. As a Director of Hotel Operations for several years, she managed areas such as the Front Desk, Housekeeping, and Engineering in addition to many others. Throughout those years she managed hotels anywhere from 300-1,000 rooms. It was through this that she acquired a wealth of knowledge in hospitality and managing the needs of large buildings. During her time in Shreveport, she has served on the board for the Hotel/Motel Association as well as the Convention and Tourism Bureau.Jimmy Backofen
Senior Advisor - Investments
Mr. Backofen participates in the investment and asset management activities of the Fund and sits on the Investment Committee. Mr. Backofen, who has been with Vintage since 1994, has been instrumental in the company’s growth from less than 20 to the more than 150 employees. He is responsible for all finance and accounting activities, overseeing cash management, cost accounting, financial reporting and employee payroll/benefits. Mr. Backofen is the Director of Asset/Property Management for the $328M Vintage-owned multi-family, office and retail portfolio, as well as Vintage’s third-party client assets. He assisted on two acquisitions and one development for the Northwest Louisiana Community Development Fund I, a DBL fund, and currently oversees the asset/property management services. He is heavily involved with all Vintage acquisitions and developments, assisting in operating agreement ownership structure designs/modifications, proforma underwriting and construction/permanent financing. He has provided financial and operational oversight on 11 ground-up developments consisting of 2,539 multi-family units, with a total construction value in excess of $250M. Mr. Backofen has a BS in Finance from Louisiana Tech University as well as a BS in Accounting from Louisiana State University Shreveport.Asteria Steinberger
Investment Committee Associate
Ms. Steinberger sits on the ASREF II Investment Committee. Ms. Steinberger’s experience in real estate centers on underwriting, asset management, and continued compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. She manages all asset management for SDS’s National New Markets Fund. She is tapped for the ASREF II Investment Committee given her deep real estate and investment experience. Prior to joining SDS in 2015, Ms. Steinberger was a Senior Investment Associate and Portfolio Manager at Breakwater Investment Management, LLC, a private investment firm that provides growth capital to small businesses. She previously worked as an Investment Banking Summer Associate at Credit Suisse. Ms. Steinberger started her career at KPMG LLP’s Economic & Valuation Services and Deloitte Tax LLP’s Property Tax Services. Ms. Steinberger graduated magna cum laude from Whittier College and earned an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a recipient of the Joseph Wharton Fellowship for students with an outstanding record of academic, personal and professional achievements.Kendall Demouchet
Senior Associate
Mr. Demouchet is an Associate with Vintage Realty and provides underwriting and origination support. His education and training includes economic research and financial markets. A Lafayette, LA native, Kendall has a bachelor’s of arts degree in economics with a minor degree in Business Administration from Centenary College of Louisiana. As a student, Mr. Demouchet participated in a wide array of activities including member of the Centenary Gents Basketball team and a guest speaker at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. He is a licensed Louisiana commercial real estate agent.
Rathi Ramasamy, MPH
Impact Manager
Ms. Ramasamy manages the project and fund level impact reports for ASREF II. She is responsible for finalizing all social, economic, environmental and fiscal impacts relative to projects. Prior to her role as Associate VP, Impact at SDS, Rathi did consulting work with Health Management Associates where she focused on addressing social determinants of health including housing and homelessness, early childhood education, and poverty. Her work included process improvement for opioid systems of care for the California Department of Health Care Services, evaluation of Measure H interim and emergency housing strategies for the County of LA, and strategic planning to address poverty for the City of LA. Rathi also served as an Administrative Fellow with the Hospital Association of Southern California, where she supported development of a new community health initiative engaging member hospitals as active partners in community health improvement and conducted a 6-county resource/ gap analysis of homeless systems of care. Rathi has a BA in English from Denison University and an MPH with a concentration in Health Policy and Management from UCLA.Austin Ross
Senior Associate
Mr. Ross is responsible for underwriting, origination and asset management support on behalf of ASREF.
Prior to joining Vintage Realty Company, Mr. Ross was a Capital Markets analyst at Jones Lang LaSalle (previously Holliday Fenoglio Fowler) in Dallas, TX. While there he was responsible for the underwriting, investment sales pitch/marketing material prep and due diligence/closing process coordination of institutional commercial property transactions throughout the country. Mr. Ross has underwritten over $3.4 billion and assisted in the closing of more than $630 million of commercial real estate assets across multiple property types. Prior to JLL, he played professional baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Austin graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering. While there Austin was a member of the 2009 National Champion LSU baseball team.
News
- Press
- Investments
Wilmington NC Investment Life At Lakeside Villas
Multifamily Housing News 1.27.2023
ASREF partners with Olive Tree on purchase of 429-unit affordable housing townhome community. Located in Wilmington, North Carolina, “The Life at Lakeside Villas,” is the latest joint venture between ASREF and Olive Tree Holdings. This $29M purchase marks their fifth project partnership of impact investments in affordable housing in the South.
Press ReleaseWilmington NC Investment Life at Lakeside Villas
Multifamily Housing News 1.27.2023
ASREF partners with Olive Tree on purchase of 429-unit affordable housing townhome community. Located in Wilmington, North Carolina, “The Life at Lakeside Villas,” is the latest joint venture between ASREF and Olive Tree Holdings. This $29M purchase marks their fifth project partnership of impact investments in affordable housing in the South.
12hundred Studios Ribbon Cutting In Atlanta Hunter Hills
Tenth Street Ventures And Partners Celebrate Ribbon Cutting With Atlanta Mayor Andre On 12hundred Studios On Mobile St In Atlanta’s Hunter Hills The 40-unit apartment complex has been revamped with attainable rents at 60% AMI; American South Fund Management impact fund supports affordable housing developments for low-income residents throughout the South.
12hundred Studios Ribbon Cutting In Atlanta Hunter Hills
Tenth Street Ventures And Partners Celebrate Ribbon Cutting With Atlanta Mayor Andre On 12hundred Studios On Mobile St In Atlanta’s Hunter Hills The 40-unit apartment complex has been revamped with attainable rents at 60% AMI; American South Fund Management impact fund supports affordable housing developments for low-income residents throughout the South.
$12.5 Million To Develop Workforce Housing In Flagler Beach Florida
The Preserve at Flagler Beach Press Release 6.2022
Piedmont and American South Fund Management Announce Newest Investment in Florida; $12.5 Million to Develop Workforce Housing. The Preserve At Flagler Beach ground-up development to construct 240-unit garden-style workforce apartment community.
$12.5 Million to Develop Workforce Housing in Flagler Beach Florida
The Preserve at Flagler Beach Press Release 6.2022
Piedmont and American South Fund Management Announce Newest Investment in Florida; $12.5 Million to Develop Workforce Housing. The Preserve At Flagler Beach ground-up development to construct 240-unit garden-style workforce apartment community.
$23M Investment Partnership With Olive Tree Holdings
ESTRELLA AT KIEST – DALLAS, TX
ESTRELLA AT KIEST – DALLAS, TX
Estrella at Kiest Affordable Housing Development by ZNE Capital and LeavenWealth closes on $3.0M Equity Investment from American South Fund Management
The acquisition and renovation of this 232-unit apartment community will help preserve the affordable housing stock in South Dallas
Dallas, TX – June XX, 2022 – Funding has closed on the acquisition/renovation of Estrella at Kiest, a 232-unit apartment community in Dallas, Texas. The $35.2M project will be owned and operated by ZNE Capital and LeavenWealth. This is the first multifamily investment in Dallas for American South Fund Management (ASFM), a partnership between SDS Capital Group and Vintage Realty Company. Post renovation, all 232 apartment units will be available at rental rates that are affordable to families at less than 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) level, bringing critically-needed affordable housing to this community.
ZNE Capital and LeavenWealth are already underway on building renovations including repairs to 25 units damaged by the 2021 Cold Wave in Texas and an additional 24 units damaged in a 2021 fire. ZNE’s renovation and business model focuses on green-focused upgrades with the installation of roof-mounted solar panels, low flow water fixtures, and electrical upgrades to increase energy efficiency and promote savings at the project as well as costs to tenants. Transitioning the development to a green, sustainable projects is central to ZNE’s business philosophy.
“Estrella at Kiest continues ZNE Capital’s mission of decarbonizing existing affordable housing communities,” said Owen Barret, President of ZNE. “This project is living proof that you can decrease the carbon emissions from the built environment and preserve affordable housing.”
The Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) ranked second in the country for overall population growth within a metro area between July 2020 and July 2021.[1] Accordingly, rents in Dallas have seen a steady increase of 18% over the past year.[2] The Estrella at Kiest renovation is comprised of 16 two-story buildings located on a 10.5-acre site. The property offers quality multifamily housing including one, two and three-bedroom unit options.
“ASFM is very pleased to finance this impactful project. Estrella at Kiest provides much needed affordable housing and directly aligns with our goal of making a difference for low-income residents and communities throughout the South,” said Deborah La Franchi, ASFM Managing Partner. “In a tight housing market like Dallas, it is crucial to preserve and renovate more affordable housing.”
“We are thrilled to continue to expand our Texas footprint to Dallas,” said David Alexander, ASFM Managing Partner. “ZNE Capital is an excellent partner in the multifamily market and similarly prioritizes investing in projects that create significant impacts within socio-economically disadvantaged areas.”
Impact funds managed by ASFM target their impact investments into distressed communities of color within a 10-state footprint across the South. Since 2018, impact funds managed by ASFM have made 18 investments in Texas, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana and Arkansas totaling $80.0 million and over $446 million of project costs to date.
LIFE AT LAKESIDE VILLAS – WILMINGTON, NC
LIFE AT LAKESIDE VILLAS – WILMINGTON, NC
Olive Tree Affordable Housing, the affordable housing subsidiary of Olive Tree Holdings, a private real estate-focused private investment firm, today announced the acquisition of The Life at Lakeside Villas, a 429-unit affordable multi-family development at the 1519 Lake turnoff in Wilmington, North Carolina. With equity provided by the American South Fund Management Team, Olive Tree has announced a capital improvement program to begin in the second quarter of 2023 to improve the quality of life for residents.
LIFE AT ELMWOOD GROVE – SPRINGDALE, AR
LIFE AT ELMWOOD GROVE – SPRINGDALE, AR
Olive Tree Holdings and American South Real Estate Fund II Announce $23M Investment Partnership Supporting Affordable Housing
The Life at Elmwood Grove Development to Renovate 192 Affordable Multifamily Housing Units in Springdale, AR
Springdale, AR – November 23, 2021 – Funding has been secured to acquire and begin the renovation of The Life at Elwood Grove (formerly known as Springdale Ridge Apartments,) a 192-unit affordable multifamily apartment community in Springdale, Arkansas. The 16-building garden style project is being rehabilitated by Olive Tree Holdings (“Olive Tree”). Life at Elwood Grove is Olive Tree’s 40th multifamily acquisition. This is Olive Tree’s fourth partnership with American South Real Estate Fund (ASREF) I and II, managed American South Fund Management (ASFM), a partnership between SDS Capital Group and Vintage Realty Company. All 192 units will be rented at rates affordable to low-income families.
“Olive Tree’s mission has centered on finding and improving existing assets or new projects that can provide quality housing to workforce households and families across the country. With The Life at Elmwood Grove, we now manage over 8,000 units of affordable housing nationally, meeting a critical need within underserved communities. The financial partnership between Olive Tree and American South Real Estate Fund II , enables us to quickly acquire and initiate project construction. This expedites our pursuit of quality developments that offer affordable rents,” said Ian Bel, Principal, Olive Tree.
The development is located near a variety of major employers that include the University of Arkansas, Tyson Foods (the second largest food company in the S&P 500 and largest employer in Springdale) and Walmart’s global headquarters. The Fayetteville MSA has experienced 2% annual growth for the past decade. Median home values in the area increased by approximately 20%, while median household income rose by just 2.3%. The Life at Elmwood Grove development offers quality housing that is affordable to the community. Income levels within a 5-mile radius of the apartment complex are below 80% of area median income (AMI), with the units being affordable to families at this income level.
LIFE AT STERLING WOODS – HOUSTON, TX
LIFE AT STERLING WOODS – HOUSTON, TX
ASREF II ANNOUNCES FIRST INVESTMENT – IN HOUSTON
Houston, TX – August 4, 2021 – Funding has been secured to acquire and begin the improvement of The Life at Sterling Woods (formerly known as Villas on Winkler) complex into a 234-unit senior/ affordable multifamily apartment community in Houston, Texas. The project is being rehabilitated by Olive Tree Holdings and will be managed by their affiliate property management and construction management company, The Life Properties, which oversees the day-to-day operation and business plan execution exclusively for Olive Tree Holdings’ multifamily portfolio. The Life at Sterling Woods is Olive Tree Holdings’ 34th multifamily acquisition and the 13th in the Houston market.