Elizabeth Property Group (EPG), a women-owned affordable housing company, has acquired six low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) properties with 1,444 affordable units in Texas.
The acquisition is the largest to date for EPG and allows the 3-year-old firm to expand its footprint into several different markets, according to Tisha Vaidya, co-founder and principal of Dallas-based EPG.
“The reason why we started this company and the reason why we like this acquisition is because in all these markets there’s limited affordable housing availability,” she says, explaining that rising housing costs are pricing many families out of their communities. “Preserving affordable housing in these in-fill areas of these respective towns is more and more critical.”
EPG acquired the 336-unit Willow Green in Houston; the 232-unit Woodglen Park I & II in Duncanville; the 232-unit Pine Club in Beaumont; the 232-unit Ridgewood West in Huntsville; the 232-unit Saddlewood Club in Bryan; and the 180-unit Tealwood Place in Wichita.
The developments have a capacity to house about 3,000 residents.
All units will continue to be affordable for renters earning up to 60% of the area median income through 2042 and 2043. Each property is located in a low- or moderate-income area with an average poverty rate of 36% and an average census tract minority population of 75%. Currently, 94% of units are occupied.
EPG acquired the LIHTC developments from Dalcor Cos. The properties were built in the 1990s and rehabbed in 2012, according to Vaidya.
Renovations will include addressing deferred maintenance, painting, replacing the flooring within units, and upgrading the exteriors and landscaping. No tenants will be displaced because of the renovations, says EPG, which is also planning additional after-school programs at the sites.
Financing was provided by funds affiliated with American South Fund Management (ASFM), which manages real estate impact funds focused on transformative projects in distressed communities of color across a 10-state Southern footprint.
“Preserving 1,444 affordable units for low-income Texans is the type of project that meets the core of our mission,” says Deborah La Franchi, ASFM managing partner, noting that the investment ensures that all of the units will be affordable for another 20 years.
To date, ASFM has made 22 investments—eight in Texas—totaling $96 million in equity investment. ASFM is owned by Los Angeles-based SDS Capital Group and Vintage Realty Co. of Shreveport, Louisiana.
EPG started in 2020 and has accumulated 13 properties with 2,500 units in nine markets across Texas. Firm leaders are looking to expand into other states.
