SoLa Impact has raised over $250 million in its fourth fund and aims to scale up affordable and workforce housing development in California’s Black and brown communities. CalSTRS’ commitment through Belay Investment Group represents the first real estate investment by the CalSTRS Sustainable Investment and Stewardship Strategies Team.
LOS ANGELES, March 1, 2022
SoLa Impact, a leading minority-led real estate fund focused on affordable and workforce housing in California’s Black and brown communities, today announced that the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (“CalSTRS”), the world’s largest educator-only pension fund, via their joint venture with Belay Investment Group, has anchored SoLa’s second close with a $50 million equity commitment into its “Black Impact Fund.” CalSTRS’ investment combines commitments from the pension fund’s Real Estate and Sustainable Investment & Stewardship Strategies (“SISS”) units thorough its partnership with Belay Investment Group, CalSTRS’ emerging manager conduit. With the investment, CalSTRS joins other leading institutional investors such as PayPal Holdings, Equitable Insurance, the Skoll Foundation, Ally Bank, Potenza Capital, Pacific Premier Bank, Adirondack Capital and senior partners of some of the nation’s premier private equity firms that have collectively invested over $250 million in SoLa’s Black Impact Fund. The fund plans to formally close once it reaches its $300 million target.
“We are honored to have CalSTRS anchor our second close with such a significant commitment,” said Martin Muoto, Chief Executive Officer of SoLa Impact. “We looked for a mission-aligned investor that operates in a true partnership with emerging managers, has an appreciation for the diversity of our team, and has deep experience in institutional investing. CalSTRS and Belay are a perfect fit for SoLa Impact.”
“Our mission is to provide a secure retirement for California’s public educators and beneficiaries,” said Kirsty Jenkinson, CalSTRS’ SISS investment director. “Our dedicated portfolio seeks to achieve superior financial returns while creating demonstrable social and environmental outcomes. The investment with SoLa Impact is our first real estate investment within SISS and aligns with our goals. We are delighted to work with the SoLa team, our colleagues in the CalSTRS Real Estate team and our partners at Belay to expand affordable and workforce housing in California.”
“After extensive due diligence, Belay has been impressed with the senior team at SoLa Impact, their thoughtful, disciplined approach to building their platform, and with the positive change they continue to affect in Los Angeles through their affordable housing investment strategy and related social programming. While their track record speaks for itself, we believe that SoLa is an organization that helps prove that ‘Doing well by Doing good’ is a viable business model. And Belay is particularly aligned with their commitment to investing in historically overlooked Black and brown communities, as well as their deep engagement with the communities in which they invest,” said Eliza Bailey, Belay’s Managing Principal in charge of Investment Team activity.
To date, SoLa Impact has invested in the development of over 3,000 affordable and workforce housing units located primarily in Los Angeles. SoLa’s strategy includes the renovation of existing multifamily properties, as well as new ground-up construction projects in Black and brown communities. SoLa takes a somewhat unique approach to investing in market rate workforce housing by embracing Section 8 vouchers and going beyond housing, using SoLa’s social programs offered through their affiliated non-profit, the SoLa I Can Foundation, that provide practical solutions for ending homelessness by equipping tenants with vocational training, financial counseling, scholarships, and pathways to self-sufficiency.
“Over the last several decades, demand for affordable housing in California has far outpaced supply, and SoLa’s strategy directly addresses this issue,” said Julie Donegan, a portfolio manager for CalSTRS’ Real Estate team. “SoLa’s replicable development model and strong in-house capabilities enable them to deliver quality new construction at a cost basis that allows for attractive investor returns while offering rental rates that low- and middle-income residents can afford. SoLa’s model has demonstrated that a high-caliber operator with a disciplined investing approach, combined with intentional social impacts, can deliver returns that benefit investors and community members alike. We look forward to working with SoLa through our long-standing relationship with Belay, our dedicated partner for emerging manager private equity real estate investments.”
“If we’re going to end homelessness and build a more equitable city, we need to partner across sectors and bring all of L.A.’s creativity and innovation to bear,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “SoLa Impact is poised to double down on the important work it’s doing to both build much-needed affordable housing in underserved communities and provide Angelenos with the tools they need to transform their lives.”
About SoLa Impact
SoLa Impact is a family of real estate funds with a double bottom line strategy focused on preserving, rehabbing, and building high-quality affordable housing in Black and brown communities. SoLa’s proven track record leverages data-driven social impact strategies to deliver superior financial returns. SoLa Impact’s fourth fund, the Black Impact Fund, is part of an initiative to invest over $1 billion in affordable and workforce housing and related social impact strategies across urban cities in California.
SoLa Impact was ranked as the 7th fastest-growing minority-led private company on Inc. Magazine’s 500 list and was also recognized by Forbes Magazine and the Sorenson Impact Center as the leading urban Opportunity Zone fund in the country. SoLa Impact’s funds have attracted a number of leading investors seeking yield while also remaining committed to Diversity & Inclusion and delivering impact through ESG initiatives.
About CalSTRS
CalSTRS provides a secure retirement to more than 980,000 members and beneficiaries whose CalSTRS-covered service is not eligible for Social Security participation. On average, members who retired in 2020–21 had 25 years of service and a monthly benefit of $4,813. Established in 1913, CalSTRS is the largest educator-only pension fund in the world with $327.6 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2021. CalSTRS demonstrates its strong commitment to long-term corporate sustainability principles in its annual Sustainability Report. For more information, visit CalSTRS.com.
About Belay Investment Group
Belay Investment Group, LLC is a majority woman-owned Los Angeles-based investment management firm that pursues debt and equity investment opportunities, primarily middle-market infill properties in urban/suburban transit hub markets, on behalf of its institutional investors. Belay implements its investment strategies through long-term relationships with high caliber, local operating partners and sector specialists. The firm has earned a reputation in the industry for supporting the growth and development of operators and emerging managers (including MWBE firms), beyond providing investment capital.
Disclaimer
SoLa Impact and the Black Impact Fund are providing this press release for informational purposes only. This is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer in any funds managed by the Black Impact Fund, SoLa Impact, or any of their respective affiliates.