Evernorth announced the financial closing of its second multi-investor fund, Housing New England, Fund II. The fund will provide equity to finance affordable housing in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
Nineteen investors committed $60.7 million in equity. They include community, regional, and national banks as well as a one of the nation’s largest mortgage banking organizations.
“We raised capital from a wide range of investors and new partners enabling us to expand our reach to preserve and create much-needed affordable housing in these unprecedented times,” said Nancy Owens, co-president of Evernorth.
The nonprofit organization raises equity by syndicating federal low-income housing and historic tax credits as well as various state historic and affordable housing credits.
“In addition to a reliable return on their investments, the community banks and the regional and national companies that have invested with the Housing New England, Fund II, will help to build or renovate tangible, long-lasting affordable housing resources throughout northern New England,” said co-president Bill Shanahan.
In all, the fund will invest in 18 developments, with nine in Maine, three in New Hampshire, and six in Vermont, creating 744 affordable apartments. Two of the first properties closed into the fund, one in St Albans, Vermont, and the other in Livermore Falls, Maine, have begun leasing.
Evernorth will unveil Housing New England, Fund III, in the spring to support its pipeline of high-quality community developments that need financing, according to officials.
In January 2020, it closed its first fund, Housing New England, Fund I, a joint venture of Housing Vermont and Northern New England Housing Investment Fund with $64.5 million deployed across the three states.
That collaboration was the first step toward the merger of the two firms and the founding of Evernorth. As members of the National Association of State and Local Equity Funds, the organizations had worked closely for many years. In their combined 30-year history, they have raised and deployed over $1 billion in equity capital for affordable housing and built more than 13,000 affordable homes for low- and moderate-income people across northern New England.
