Affiliated Development launches $125M workforce housing fund

A Fort Lauderdale-based real estate development and investment firm wants to raise $125 million to invest in mixed-income workforce housing in South and Central Florida.

Affiliated Development launched the impact housing fund to help communities while delivering risk-adjusted returns for its investors, according to a press release. The fund will provide capital to finance Affiliated Development’s pipeline of workforce housing projects and investments. Affiliated will also apply for government financing incentives to help fund the projects.

The fund has the required capital commitments for an initial closing scheduled for December. Current committed investors include the Fort Lauderdale Police and Firefighters’ Pension Fund, West Palm Beach Police Pension Fund, Hollywood Police Pension Fund, Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund, Miramar Police Pension Fund and an unnamed locally based family office, according to the release.

Jeff Burns and Nick Rojo of Affiliated will be the sole general partners and managers of the fund.

In June, Affiliated scored the first round of approvals from the Lake Worth Beach city commission for its apartment project known as the Bohemian, at 1017 Lake Avenue.

In December, Affiliated Development snagged a $35 million construction loan for its 230-unit apartment project, The Mid, on 16th Avenue and North Dixie Highway near downtown Lake Worth Beach. That month, it also received approval from West Palm Beach officials for a $9 million grant to go forward with the 289-unit, eight-story mixed-use project known as The Grand in West Palm Beach.

Meanwhile, earlier this year Florida-based firm Kayne Anderson raised $1.3 billion for a distressed debt fund. And Blackstone gathered $8 billion for a property debt fund that closed in September, making it the largest real estate credit fund ever raised.