Dantes Partners With Goldman Sachs On $139M Affordable Housing Acquisition In D.C. Suburbs
Dantes Community Partners has reached a deal with two of the biggest firms in the investment world to buy a Prince George's County apartment community and preserve its affordability.
The D.C.-based developer is partnering with Goldman Sachs Asset Management's Urban Investment Group, and it is receiving funding from Citi's Emerging Manager Preservation Fund, to finance the $139M acquisition of the Verona at Landover Hills community, the companies announced Friday.
The 727-unit property is being acquired through the county’s Right of First Refusal program. The team plans to maintain at least half of the units at affordable for those earning up to 60% of the area median income, and the rest up to 80% AMI.
The acquisition allows Dantes to work with major financial institutions to preserve affordability in a fast-growing market, Dantes Operating Principal Sharif Mitchell said in a statement.
"We saw an opportunity to acquire another sizable asset in our core market, whereby we could collaborate with a best-in-class partner, with an aligned mission to deliver real impact: create new affordability in the market, create jobs, offer comprehensive resident and social services, and implement a greening strategy at scale," Mitchell said.
Goldman Sachs said the deal fits in with its One Million Black Women initiative, a $10B investment strategy that seeks to narrow opportunity gaps for Black women.
Following renovations, Kettler Management will run day-to-day operations, while Equally Crafted Management has also been brought aboard to provide services like academic tutoring, food supplemental services, workforce training and other amenities.
Dragone Realty Investments and GMF Capital sold the property. CBRE brokered the sale and Walker & Dunlop arranged the financing.
Dantes last year purchased another property from the same sellers, the Avanti Apartments in Prince George's County. In that deal, which closed in November, Dantes worked with New York-based Jonathan Rose Cos. to secure affordability for a 930-unit property.
Dantes isn't the only developer to take advantage of the county's Right of First Refusal program, which allows developers to work with the county to preserve the affordability of a multifamily property that goes up for sale.
In May, Jair Lynch continued its partnership with Nuveen to acquire a pair of Langley Park properties, with plans to preserve 441 naturally occurring affordable housing units. That deal also used the right of first refusal program.
