Michaels to Invest $500M in Military Housing Portfolio
The company aims to provide housing for 15,000 military families.
The Michaels Organization will invest $500 million in its military housing portfolio over the next five years, across seven army installations in various states. The project is financed through reinvestment of funds, as well a $305 million bond issuance, arranged by Stifel and Ballard Spahr LLP. Implementation will begin this summer.
The company will use these funds to construct new residences, as well as rehabilitate historic homes and renovate existing ones. In total, the venture aims to provide housing for 15,000 military families through this project. The locations on which the venture will focus on are Fort Belvoir, Va., Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Fort Moore, Ga., Fort Irwin, Calif., Fort Huachuca, Ariz., Presidio of Monterey, Calif., and Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz.
The bond issuance resulted in 35 investors that have placed more than $1.8 billion of orders for the financing. Levine, Staller, Sklar, Chan & Brown, P.A. Partner Michael Sklar provided legal representation for Michaels in the transaction.
The Michaels Organization became a private-sector housing partner to the Department of Defense in 2004, after congress passed the Military Housing Privatization Initiative back in 1996. The company operates assets across different residential sectors, as it currently serves some 200,000 residents in more than 570 communities. Recently, the firm finalized a $330 million student housing project, bringing 1,549 beds to UC Davis.
