Antonio Marquez: The Development That Changed My Life

Antonio Marquez is principal and managing partner at Comunidad Partners, an integrated real estate firm that invests in affordable and workforce housing throughout the Sun Belt.

Affordable Housing Finance recently asked Marquez to discuss a development that changed his life.

Name of development:

Villas del Solamar

Location:

Dallas

Describe the development:

Villas del Solamar was built in 1973 and acquired in 2015 by Comunidad Partners as part of the firm’s strategic efforts to invest in Sun Belt markets exhibiting strong job and income growth, population growth, and constrained workforce housing supply for residents earning between 60% and120% of the area median income. With 212 units and tailored community amenities, Solamar offers high-quality housing for essential, middle-income residents. This group often includes workers such as police officers, firefighters, teachers, health care workers, and the service-sector workforce who are priced out of luxury or market-rate housing near their employers and do not qualify for income-restricted housing.

Role in the project:

Our acquisition strategy for any property is evaluating how we can create long-term value for both investors and residents. With this in mind, we focus on creating a forward-looking plan that can yield high occupancy and retention rates as well as initiatives designed to enhance the property’s value and sustainability footprint. For example, any necessary capital improvements, sustainability measures, and/or developing specific social programs to support residents. For Solamar, our team worked diligently to ensure that the property could benefit from our strategic community building efforts and further our goal of investing in workforce and attainable workforce housing in thriving communities.

Source: Affordable Housing Finance: https://www.housingfinance.com/developments/antonio-marquez-the-development-that-changed-my-life_o