The Paces Foundation and Soho Housing Partners Announce Strategic Partnership

SMYRNA, Ga., Oct. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Paces Foundation and Soho Housing Partners are pleased to announce they have entered into a strategic partnership, combining Paces' industry leading affordable housing development and preservation services with Soho's exceptional capabilities structuring complex financial solutions that make quality investments for workforce housing communities possible.

With a growing affordable housing crisis brewing, state and local authorities recognize the need for creative and sustainable solutions to meet their communities' workforce housing needs. The Paces-Soho partnership brings together significant skills in funding strategies, public procurement, urban revitalization, affordable housing development, services and management to help support housing authorities meet their portfolio revitalization goals.   

The new strategic partnership created by Soho and Paces will be named Paces Preservation Partners LLC. Michael Bauer, Paces' Director of Community Development, will help drive the initiative. Michael brings more than 20 years of proven leadership in the development and design of large-scale affordable housing options.

"Paces' COO, Renee Sandell, and I believe the strategic partnership with Soho Housing Partners will provide Paces the opportunity to leverage the extensive financial skills of Soho principals and help relieve the road blocks many communities face in structuring these revitalization projects," Mark du Mas, President of The Paces Foundation, said.

"By partnering with The Paces Foundation as a single team, we can further help housing authorities, smaller regional non-profits, and municipal entities, preserve and reimagine the next generation of workforce housing communities. The quality of Paces' reputation and product is second to none and the timing is essential for this partnership to help ease the growing national affordable housing crisis," states Stephen Bien, Principal of Soho Housing Partners.

According to the 2019 Harvard JHCH State of the Nation's Housing Report, the stock of low-cost rentals has shrunk by 4 million units since 2011, and nearly half of the remaining inventory is more than 50 years old. State and local communities are looking for ways they can preserve affordable housing units and make them energy-efficient for renters. 

About Soho Housing Partners
Leveraging more than 40 years of housing and capital markets experience, Soho Housing Partners, LLC was founded by Stephen Bien and Kevin DiQuattro to develop, construct, and preserve multi-housing with a concentration on affordable housing developments. Soho's significant structuring, financial, and technical expertise affords the ability to find value in even the most complex transactions and unique development opportunities.

About The Paces Foundation
Founded in 1991, The Paces Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides affordable housing and services for low income neighbors. The housing for both seniors and families is built to green certification standards to ease utility and maintenance costs for residents and have a low impact on the environment. The foundation contributed millions of dollars to the economy via professional services and building trades and is Section 3 compliant. The Paces Foundation has owned, preserved and/or developed more than 3,000 units across the southeast, and most recently New Jersey. Visit www.pacesfoundation.org.

Media Contact: Amy Sigal, amy@pacesfoundation.org

SOURCE The Paces Foundation