IMPACTASSETS 50™
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
ImpactAssets 50
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
MSquared
Affordable Housing & Community Development
Place-based impact
Racial equity and justiceFirm Overview
MSquared is a women-owned real estate development and impact investing platform focused on creating mixed-income, mixed-use projects that promote affordability, sustainability, and diversity. MSquared delivers solutions to the growing housing affordability crisis by partnering with investors, developers, and the public sector to build mixed-income projects that generate attractive risk-adjusted returns while delivering tangible social and environmental benefits. The team of experienced and creative problem solvers is well positioned to work at the intersection of real estate, public policy, capital markets and social impact.
Years of Operation: Less than 3 years
% of Capital from Top 3 Investors: 50% – 99%
MSquared invests in mixed-income, mixed-use projects in growing metro areas that create new, affordable, sustainable housing units attainable for households at a range of income levels, while advancing gender and racial equity by directing capital to women and minority-led development teams.
MSquared invests in ground-up or adaptive reuse development projects that promote a holistic approach to a livable city: one that is affordable, sustainable, and interconnected. MSquared’s impact investing approach centers on three core principles: affordability, sustainability, and diversity. Investments will include market rate units alongside affordable units, mitigating absorption and overall financing risk, while also helping to break down the social, racial and economic barriers associated with 100% low-income housing developments. In addition, MSquared will provide affordable space for local small businesses and community facilities, making essential goods and services accessible to tenants, strengthening neighborhood infrastructure, and enhancing project revenue streams. MSquared investments will promote sustainability by seeking out projects in transit-oriented locations and by incorporating energy efficient and green design. Finally, MSquared will seek opportunities to invest in projects that are led by women and minority development teams, thereby advancing gender and racial equity.
Adding units: Most affordable housing private equity vehicles invest in acquisition of existing affordable or workforce affordable units that do not increase supply or include affordability restrictions. MSquared will invest in ground-up or adaptive reuse developments that will increase housing supply and ensure long-term affordability. Mixed-Income: Most vehicles invest in either “affordable” or market-rate, but do not invest in projects that combine the two or that seek to serve the increasingly rent-burdened “missing middle”. MSquared’s Fund will invest in mixed-income, mixed-use projects that eliminate the stigma associated with “affordable” housing and provide equitable access to community resources. Team: While most firms are starting to think about ESG, MSquared was created with impact at its core. Founded by nationally recognized affordable housing expert, Alicia Glen, the team has extensive knowledge of housing policy, finance and operations with decades of experience executing some of the country’s most complex and catalytic public-private projects.
Investment Example
MSquared is investing in a downtown, transit-oriented site in a supply constrained city, located near multiple company headquarters and universities, and in an Opportunity Zone. The development includes 102 residential units with 50% market-rate and 50% affordable to households earning up to $63,600 for a family of four; a MWBE-owned daycare; and local small business retail. The sponsor is a women-owned firm in partnership with an established mixed-use developer and a local MBE residential operator. The project adds housing to a constrained market and includes units set aside for a wide range of incomes. It drives job creation through construction, property management, and non-residential uses and supports women and minority-led businesses, both through the project structure and through the retail/commercial spaces. Finally, it is a transit-oriented development that connects to open spaces and walking/biking infrastructure, and utilizes energy efficient, environmentally friendly design and construction. Projected project level return is 12%.
Leadership and Team
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Alicia Glen – Founder and Managing Principal More Info
Alicia Glen is the former New York City Deputy Mayor and a nationally recognized expert in urban development, infrastructure finance, job creation, and housing policy. As Deputy Mayor from 2014 to 2019, Alicia was the architect of “Housing New York” – the largest housing plan in the nation – and developed and financed over 125,000 affordable homes, shattering all previous records. Prior to serving as Deputy Mayor, Alicia was Head of the Urban Investment Group (UIG) at Goldman Sachs and co-led the firm’s 10,000 Small Businesses initiative. Under her leadership, UIG catalyzed more than $5 billion of mixed-use development in cities across the country through equity, debt, and tax investment vehicles. UIG also invested in and structured innovative public-private partnerships. Alicia is the current Chair of the Trust for Governors Island and Chair of women.nyc. Alicia received a BA from Amherst College and a law degree from Columbia University. |
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Carolee Fink – Principal More Info
Carolee Fink is a Principal at MSquared, where she oversees company operations and the Development practice, and sources deals across the country for the company’s investment management platform. She is also a member of the Investment Committee. Prior to MSquared, Carolee had a long tenure in New York City government where she served in senior economic development roles in both the Bloomberg and de Blasio Administrations. She successfully led several major projects including the development of Brooklyn Bridge Park, Downtown Brooklyn Cultural District, NYU Applied Sciences Campus and the Domino Sugar Refinery redevelopment. |
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Sara Myerson – Managing Director, Acquisitions More Info
Sara is the Managing Director of Investments, where she oversees the sourcing and execution of investment opportunities for funds managed by MSquared. She brings over 15 years of finance, design, development and public-private partnership experience with a focus on sustainable and resilient development in emerging and transforming urban markets. Most recently, she was Vice President at Suffolk Capital, a real estate investment vehicle affiliated with Suffolk Construction. Previously she served as the Director of Planning for the Boston Planning and Development Agency, where she oversaw Boston’s land use planning, urban design and zoning and led its first citywide planning initiative in 50 years - Imagine Boston 2030. Sara also served as the Executive Director of the Office of Olympic Planning during Boston’s bid for the 2024 Olympics. |
Financial Performance
Impact Performance
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Percentage of Total Assets Under
Management that are Impact Investments: |
100%
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MSquared only works with partners who are including affordable housing units in their projects, making social impact integral to the product they are offering. In addition, MSquared aims to target capital to M/WBE developers, which helps to break down the gender and racial barriers prevalent in the real estate industry.
Diversity and sustainability are two of the core components of MSquared's impact investing strategy. As such, due diligence with possible partners includes evaluating their management team and ownership structure to determine the level of women and minority participation. Similarly, MSquared's process considers potential partners' track record with respect to sustainability and how and whether they have incorporated green building measures into their prior developments and what plans they have to do so on the investment opportunity being evaluated.
Impact Tracking and Monitoring
Learn More
40 Fulton Street, Suite 1404, New York, NY 10038 USA
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