Gypsy Hill Place to Provide 70+ Residences & Activities Center for Seniors
NORFOLK, VA (July 31, 2009)-Hampton Roads Ventures (HRV), one of the nation’s leading community development and New Markets Tax Credits firms, along with Octagon Partners, a national real estate firm, held a groundbreaking ceremony for the redevelopment of the former Robert E. Lee High School into Gypsy Hill Place. City of Staunton Mayor Lacy B. King, Staunton Economic Development Director William Hamilton, Diane Stewart of ShenanArts, and Paul Lavigne of the Valley Program for Aging Services, Inc. (VPAS) joined HRV and Octagon at the ceremony marking the formal commencement of redevelopment of this circa 1926, 100,000-square-foot building boasting 70+ senior residences and cultural activities.
The former high school, which is listed on National Historic Register and Virginia Historic Landmarks Register, is expected to be completed in 2010 and will become the headquarters of ShenanArts and the VPAS. Located within walking distance of Gypsy Hill Park, Gypsy Hill Place will allow these community agencies to consolidate many of its programs and operations into a central location providing better access to the community it serves.
The key to success was the use of innovative public/private partnerships to find and secure funding. Octagon collaborated with the City of Staunton and HRV, a local community development investment firm, to facilitate the financial resources needed to finalize the project. Industry experts at forging public/private partnerships, HRV availed the New Markets Tax Credit program to attract $10 million to the project. Investors included United Bank and U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation.
Gypsy Hill Place marks the latest community development project for HRV. It has deployed a total of $100 million in NMTCs to nearly a dozen projects completed or under development since 2003.
About HRV
Hampton Roads Ventures, LLC, is a community development investment firm specializing in attracting private-sector investment capital into innovative economic community development projects in emerging domestic communities, particularly lower income urban and rural communities. HRV works closely with local business, government and civic leaders to identify investment opportunities that will be a catalyst for additional private sector investment and development.
About Octagon
Octagon Capital Partners was formed in 2005 by principals JP Williamson and Sean Stalfort Octagon Partners is a national real estate investment firm focused on providing capital and real estate development services in select markets throughout the U.S. Octagon engages in a range of real estate development activities such as site repositioning, historic renovation, urban infill, adaptive reuse projects where it seeks to combine tax credits and other incentives. Octagon focuses primarily on dynamic college towns, which provide solid demographics and economic stability. Octagon has invested or exited seven portfolio properties totaling over 1,300 acres, 1,250 residential units and 2 million square feet of retail square feet. For more information, visit www.octagonpartners.com.
###
There is no related post.