FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., Jan. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- AspireFund, under the leadership of Ryan Scott, recently finished construction on five of nine new homes in Kachina Village, Flagstaff. The development, named Kachina Pines, sits on a plot of land that was previously thought to be undevelopable.
AspireFund, a Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOF) Fund, used creative financing and an out of the box site plan to mitigate various obstacles and successfully develop Kachina Pines.
A Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund (QOF) is an investment vehicle that is organized for the purpose of investing in qualified opportunity zone property. Opportunity zones are designated areas that have been identified by the State government as distressed or in need of the biggest reason to invest in QOF is because of the tax incentives for investors with capital gains.
For the past ten years, the 1.5 acre plot of land in the middle of Flagstaff's Kachina Village confounded developers in Northern Arizona. Ryan's vision for the project was to go beyond the simple five lot split everyone else claimed was the only way. Instead, he and his team pursued and successfully received county approval for nine lots. More lots, plus the financial leverage provided by the Opportunity Zone (OZ) program, rendered the project not just feasible, it became a home run.
Kachina Pines, with its five homes complete and four to go, is perfectly situated in Kachina Village, Flagstaff, where a housing crisis has been influencing land values for years. In the first of several planned OZ projects near Flagstaff, the true purpose of the program is being realized by Aspire Fund: investment dollars are flowing into areas that need them, creating positive outcomes for the community.
The district manager of the Kachina Village Improvement District, Sam Mossman said, "Maybe three or four developers over the years inquired about developing the property, no single developer got as far as Ryan Scott in our process."
"For them to get water and sewer connection; the developer writes the check for the improvement fee then we take and hold the entire amount in escrow until it's approved."
With the influx of investment dollars, incentivized by the tax-benefits of Opportunity Zone investing, Scott raised over $1M to cover the entire project up front, including land purchase, entitlements, a new sewer main line extension, and construction. Mossman said, "Ryan Scott was the only one willing to put that money on the line to get that land developed. He was good to work with, paid his bills, didn't try to pull one past us. I take my job as running the utility for the community seriously, so we make sure it's a good project for the community and we make the developer foot the bill."
In addition, AspireFund's plan for the project sped through the entitlement process because the county is focused on making more high quality affordable units available. All the homes available in the Kachina Pines development are classed as affordable housing and come with a price tag under $280,000. Several are under contract today with no money down through the VA Loan program.
AspireFund is a Qualified Opportunity Zone Investment Fund led by Ryan Scott and focused on boutique real-estate development in Arizona.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact AspireFund at [email protected]
SOURCE AspireFund LLC
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