WNC Fund 53 Raised $153 Million in Institutional LIHTC Equity to Develop and Renovate Over 1,300 Affordable Housing Units
IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — WNC, a leading provider of investment, asset management and development services in the affordable housing industry, announced today it has closed WNC Institutional Tax Credit Fund 53, L.P. (Corp 53), a low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) fund totaling $153.4 million in equity.
Corp 53 raised the $153.4 million in equity from a total of nine institutional investors. The closure of the fund brings WNC’s total equity raise since inception to more than $7 billion.
“WNC has spent more than five decades working alongside investment partners to provide safe, high quality, and affordable housing to families in need across the nation,” said WNC Executive Vice President of Investor Relations Christine Cormier. “We are pleased to announce the closing of Fund 53 which raised significant equity that will further our mission to alleviate the affordable housing crisis in our country.”
Equity from the fund will be used to construct and renovate more than 1,300 affordable housing units across 16 properties in Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Texas and Washington DC. The properties include multifamily and senior housing in urban, suburban and rural areas. Some of the housing units are set aside for special populations including veterans; homeless, formerly homeless or at-risk of homelessness; and mobility, hearing and visually impaired residents.
Corp 53 welcomed three new investors and five new development partners. Included in the projects that will be funded by the fund are RFW Apartments and Junegrass Place. RFW, or Refuge for Women, Apartments in Lancaster, Kentucky, will provide affordable homes for 24 families with a special targeted population of women who have been the victims of sex trafficking, sexual exploitation or domestic abuse. Junegrass Place in Kalispell, Montana, will be comprised of two adjacent properties that will consist of 138 multifamily units and provide several community amenities, including a clubhouse, fitness center, playground, picnic area and walking paths.
The fund will create approximately 2,060 jobs and the aggregate economic impact is expected to generate more than $314 million in local income tax and other government revenue. Out of Corp 53’s 1,300 units, 61% are located in difficult to develop areas and/or qualified census tracts and 46% are located in majority minority tracts.