CrowdStreet Inc. (“CrowdStreet”), a financial technology provider with an online marketplace for direct equity investment in commercial real estate (CRE), today publicly launched a diversified investment fund through CrowdStreet Advisors, LLC (“CrowdStreet Advisors”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CrowdStreet. The fund will focus on new development and redevelopment in small and mid-market U.S. Opportunity Zone communities with high growth potential.
A Qualified Opportunity Fund is an investment vehicle created to invest into a qualifying property or properties as defined by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to incentivize investment in targeted communities called Opportunity Zones. By investing in the new CrowdStreet fund, investors can participate in multiple projects that are intended to increase access to high-quality jobs, healthcare, education and housing opportunities in distressed communities.
“Opportunity Zone investments align nicely with our general focus on 18-hour cities,” said Ian Formigle, Vice President of Investments for CrowdStreet. “These markets are up-and-coming metro areas with population and job growth rates that, in many cases, are outpacing larger 24-hour cities such as New York and San Francisco. Investors can feel good about boosting the economy of underserved communities while experiencing the most significant tax break in decades. With one of the most active marketplaces in the industry and our strong deal flow this year, we anticipate high-quality investment opportunities.”
Opportunity Zone investors may be able to defer capital gains through 2026 and receive up to a 15 percent tax reduction on current gains. However, the most powerful benefit comes through elimination of capital gains taxes on any returns generated by the Opportunity Zone investment, provided it is held for at least 10 years.
Today’s announcement of the fund launch follows the successful equity raise on the CrowdStreet Marketplace of capital for six individual Opportunity Zone projects across the U.S. The announcement also follows the successful fundraising for three other diversified offerings from a CrowdStreet affiliate, which raised nearly $27 million in total.
In 2019, CrowdStreet crossed $700 million invested by thousands of investors from almost every state across the country. Hundreds of real estate firms — from developers seeking financing for new projects to companies that specialize in improving or managing existing buildings — have conducted offerings on the CrowdStreet Marketplace.