Blackstone Partners With Dominium on Phoenix Affordable Housing Development

The transaction represents the first LIHTC investment made by Blackstone's April Housing portfolio company

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Blackstone is providing $48 million of tax credit equity for Dominium’s new affordable housing development in Phoenix, Commercial Observer can first report. 

The transaction marks the first Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) investment made by April Housing, a Blackstone Real Estate portfolio company. 

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The Aviara Flats development is located 15 minutes from Downtown Phoenix and will bring 372 new affordable units to the city — available to households earning no more than 60 percent of the area median income. Community amenities are set to include a gym, a playground, a pool and a theater.

“We are excited to partner with Blackstone and April Housing to deliver on our shared commitment to address the shortage of affordable housing in the U.S.,” Mark Moorhouse, Dominium managing partner and executive vice president, said. “Since breaking ground in June, we have made great progress on the  development of the property and look forward to working with April to complete Aviara Flats in 2024.  April’s knowledge and approach to LIHTC investment is impressive, and Dominium could not be more excited about their involvement in the tax credit space.” 

Blackstone announced April Housing’s launch in February, setting an intention to be a leading provider of both capital and solutions for the creation and preservation of high-quality affordable housing throughout the U.S.

“Since we launched April Housing, our focus has been on identifying ways to create and preserve affordable housing,” Kathleen McCarthy, global co-head of Blackstone Real Estate, said. “We are excited to partner with Dominium to help deliver much-needed affordable housing in Phoenix.” 

“This partnership represents an important milestone in our mission to create quality affordable  housing,” Alice Carr, CEO of April Housing, said. “[W]e look forward to developing more solutions and devoting more capital to expanding the national affordable housing supply. We are thrilled to partner with Dominium to build essential new  supply and meet the needs of the growing Phoenix community.” 

Dominium has more than five decades of experience in owning, developing and managing affordable apartment communities. The multigenerational firm currently manages more than 38,000 units in 19 states and has offices in  Phoenix, Atlanta, Dallas and Minneapolis. 

Aviara Flats joins Dominium’s expansive affordable housing portfolio, including sister properties Casa Azure and Vista Ridge apartments in Phoenix and Copper Cove apartments in Tolleson, Ariz. 

Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com