ESIC, Freddie Launch New AH Fund

The Enterprise Social Investment Corp., Columbia, Md., and Freddie Mac have announced a new $100 million equity fund aimed at spurring the development of affordable housing across the nation.ESIC will manage the fund, Freddie Mac Equity Plus II - ESIC LP, and underwrite affordable-housing projects for the fund through the federal government's Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. Freddie Mac said the new fund, a follow-on to one established in 2001, was established through its Equity Plus initiative, which allows the government-sponsored enterprise to invest up to 100% of the equity in specific multifamily projects. "The success of our first $50 million single-investor tax credit fund inspired us to create this second fund and to increase the investment amount to $100 million," said Christine Hobbs, director of Freddie Mac's Multifamily Community Development Investment Group. ESIC, a subsidiary of The Enterprise Foundation, can be found online at http://www.enterprisefoundation.org/esic. Freddie Mac can be found at http://www.freddiemac.com.