Omni New York expanded its footprint into the Southeast by closing its first portfolio acquisition, with 26 properties, in 2015.
The properties, located in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, are nearing the end of their 15-year compliance periods and will be resyndicated. The majority of the properties in the portfolio were purchased with a Fannie Mae credit facility through Wells Fargo.
In addition to its portfolio acquisition last year, Omni New York acquired two other properties in new markets, one in Maryland and one in New Jersey.
“The overall goal is to expand our geography. We were primarily in New York and Massachusetts, but we had been looking to expand,” says Eugene Schneur, co-founder and co-managing director of Omni New York. “This gives us a substantial East Coast presence.”
The firm, which now owns 64 affordable housing projects with almost 13,000 units, will continue to balance its expansion goals with its hometown work in the coming year.
Omni New York plans to add another state to further its reach, with a property under contract in Rhode Island. Additional acquisitions will include a property in Maryland and two properties in New Jersey.
In New York, the firm is anticipating the completion in August of the 175-unit, mixed-income Morris Avenue Apartments, the company’s new-construction development in the Bronx, and the closing on construction financing for the project’s second phase.
The firm also plans to complete the rehabilitation of the 252-unit Carver Hall in New Jersey and the 165-unit Hunts Point in New York City while keeping residents in place.