Riaz Capital Locks Into $100M OZ Fund Goal
The Bay Area-based has secured an estimated $75 million in capital commitments to its opportunity zone fund aimed at closing the affordability gap in the expensive local housing market.
NEW YORK CITY- Riaz Capital, a development, construction and property management firm based in Oakland, California, has zeroed in on its $100 million capital commitment goal for its Opportunity Zone fund, securing an estimated $75 million in capital commitments. The funding will support the construction of 12 new housing developments in Oakland Opportunity Zones.
When Riaz’s team went on the road to raise funding, the firm quickly figured out what worked and what didn’t in investor pitch meetings. Simply communicating the need for affordable housing in underserved areas and the Opportunity Zone-tax benefits wouldn’t be enough, Riaz Taplin, principal of Riaz Capital, tells GlobeSt.com.
But pairing that with how Riaz’s investment thesis would take actionable steps to alleviate the area’s homeless crisis and cater to the area’s demographics, captured investor attention and dollars. “We expressed that we have a real solution to a real problem,” Taplin said.
Thus far, the fund, dubbed the ABD Ozone Fund, has allocated proceeds for its Affordable By Design business model for acquisitions, design and the eventual management of an estimated 2,000 housing units.
The ABD model targets the housing needs of Bay-Area professionals earning between $40,000 and $120,000. The area has an estimated shortfall of 408,000 units that are considered affordable to this target demographic.
Riaz Capital currently has seven development sites in Oakland Opportunity Zones, offering low-risk returns. Once completed, the small-site developments will provide housing to an estimated 2,161 Oaklanders, with average monthly rents of $1,675, residences that are below 30 percent of the average monthly income in the area.