Canyon Capital raises US workforce housing fund

The Los Angeles-based asset manager has teamed up with Citibank to raise $200 million in equity to invest in underserved communities throughout California, Texas and Illinois. With leverage, the fund is positioned to acquire and manage up to $800 million in multifamily communities.


Los Angeles-based Canyon Capital Realty Advisors has partnered with Citibank to raise a new value-added fund focused on workforce housing in underserved communities across the US. The new fund, called the Canyon Multifamily Impact Fund, has closed on $200 million to target investment opportunities in urban areas throughout California, Texas and Illinois. With leverage, the Canyon Multifamily Impact Fund is positioned to acquire and manage up to $800 million in multifamily communities over the next several years.

Individual investments on behalf of the fund will range in size from $20 million to $90 million for both individual properties and portfolios. Through the fund, Canyon Capital also will implement select education, healthcare and security programs to benefit both property residents and their surrounding communities. These on-site programs may include after-school tutoring, employment assistance, community sports activities and new neighborhood watch programs.

“We believe that we can make money by providing relevant services to a community and make meaningful changes for the residents that live in our buildings,” Bobby Turner, chairman and chief executive officer of Canyon Capital, told PERE. “If you can create a sense of pride in the community within the renter, that pride will create a relationship of trust between the tenant and landlord, which ultimately will save the owner money.”

Dan Millman, a principal at Canyon Capital, added: “The need for quality workforce housing near employment centers is higher than ever. We are focused on acquiring and improving well-positioned properties that offer affordable rental housing options for local residents.”

Canyon Capital and Citibank have partnered together for the past decade. In addition to being the anchor investor in the Multifamily Impact Fund, Citibank was a significant investor in the Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds, a series of joint ventures between Canyon Capital and basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and the Canyon-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund, a partnership between Canyon Capital and tennis great Andre Agassi. The banking giant also serves as a lender to all of these platforms. “They’ve been a great capital provider across all of our investment vehicles,” Turner added. 

Although Canyon Capital has not yet made any investments on behalf of the vehicle, Turner said the firm currently is in contract to make one investment in the Chicago area.