USG Develops Tacoma Opportunity Zone Property
The property is part of the firm’s investor-directed, multi-asset fund offering.
Market Square. Image courtesy of USG Realty Capital
USG Realty Capital is expanding its portfolio of multifamily properties built within Qualified Opportunity Zones with the development of Market Square Apartments, an eight-story, 176-unit, mixed-use building planned for Tacoma, Wash.
The property will be built as part of the firm’s Investors Choice OZ Fund, an investor-directed, multi-asset Opportunity Zone fund offering. The multifamily project, which will include ground-floor retail space, is being developed in partnership with Plus Capital Partners and is scheduled for completion in June 2024. Based in Bellevue, Wash., Plus Capital specializes in the investment, development and ownership of mixed-use developments in the Greater Puget Sound area.
In September, USG Realty Capital, headquartered in Silverdale, Wash., broke ground on Elevation 1659, a 76-unit multifamily community in Milwaukee, Wis. Set for completion in September 2023, the project is being developed by Ogden & Co.
Since its launch in June 2021, USG’s Investors Choice OZ Fund has added four more projects to its portfolio and continues to seek qualified ground-up multifamily, senior living, storage and manufactured housing projects. The fund focuses on projects with investment equity targets ranging from $5 million to $10 million per projects. The USG Opportunity Zone Investment Platform has successfully launched three opportunity zone investment funds. In addition to Elevation 1659, the fund has developed two other multifamily properties, Bristol KindCare in Bristol, Conn., and Peyton Lofts in Spokane, Wash.
Proximity to Seattle a major selling point
Located at 1548 Market St., Market Square Apartments will have 79 market-rate studio apartments and 24 studios at 70 percent of Area Median Income, as well as 44 market-rate one-bedroom apartments and 12 one-bedroom apartments at 70 percent AMI and 17 two-bedroom apartments. Amenities will include two rooftop amenity decks, a pet grooming area and storage for 184 bicycles.
Greg Genovese, founder of USG Realty Capital, said in a prepared statement that the Seattle submarket of Tacoma meets its strict investment standards for Qualified Opportunity Zone projects, citing occupancy rates, rent growth rate and apartment sales volumes, all of which have exceeded recent averages.
Tacoma is a hub for tech startups and small businesses, partly due to robust broadband infrastructure and convenient freeway and rail line access, offering an easy commute to Seattle and the region’s large employers. Major roadways Interstate 705 and State Route 509 are within 2,000 feet of the Market Square Apartments property, while several downtown Tacoma employers, including St. Joseph Medical Center and Columbia Bank, are a short drive away. Market Square is being built adjacent to the Greater Tacoma Convention Center and the University of Washington’s Tacoma campus, which is expected to grow to 10,000 students in the next several years.
