Innovative New 'Workforce Housing' Fund Launched

Citibank, Washington Mutual Inc. and others "are committing a total of $57 million to a private equity fund dedicated to building homes in Los Angeles's inner city... If successful in Los Angeles, the Genesis fund is expected to catch in other cities with affordable-housing crunches, including Boston and San Francisco... Institutional investors have been reluctant to fund such projects in major metropolitan areas. In hot housing markets like Los Angeles, the homes often are built in abandoned industrial neighborhoods where land is more affordable. Such sites often require environmental cleanup."