On March 21, San Antonio-based Broadway Bank announced a $4 million equity investment to the Austin Housing Conservancy (AHC) Fund to support affordable moderate-income rental housing in Central Texas. Formed in 2018 to address rising housing expenses, the AHC fund invests and preserves multifamily properties by maintaining their affordability to moderate and middle-income families. AHC serves educators, first responders, hospitality employees and other workers providing vital services. Affordable Central Texas (ACT) is the nonprofit sponsor and investment manager of the fund.
“Broadway Bank is proud to invest in working families and help build stronger communities with the Austin Housing Conservancy Fund,” says Blake Absher, Broadway Bank’s Austin market president. “By preserving affordable housing for our city’s essential workers, AHC is creating a sense of community among neighbors while maintaining a strong moderate-income workforce, which benefits us all.”
The fund provides housing that offers residents stability, reduces stress and its long-term health impacts, and allows children to stay in the same school, which is directly tied to successful performance. ACT recently announced an increase in the fund’s quarterly distribution to 4 percent annually and a significant improvement in its net asset value, resulting in a total return to existing investors of more than 9 percent over the past three years.
“Since our founding in 2018, Austin Housing Conservancy has invested in five Austin properties totaling almost 1,200 units at a value of $200 million,” notes David Steinwedell, president and CEO of Affordable Central Texas. “All while delivering investor returns and creating housing inventory for 1,800 Austinites who can now say rent is within reach. Broadway’s $4 million commitment is the fund’s largest investment to date and sets us on a path to do even more. We hope Broadway’s leadership will lead other banks and corporations to invest in the fund. We’ve proven our model and we’re ready to scale. It is possible to preserve what makes Austin special and make a reasonable return on your money.”
Established in 1941, Broadway Bank operates more than 30 financial centers across San Antonio, Austin and the Texas Hill Country.
