For the last 30 years, SP Investment Fund and its affiliates have successfully acquired, developed and/or redeveloped affordable housing properties that are restricted to occupancy by and affordable to low and very low-income seniors, families and disabled individuals. SP Investment Fund has also broadened the scope of its investments to include health sciences and biotechnology startups like Allotrope Medical.Backed by Y-Combinator, Allotrope Medical is a Houston-based medical-device company that aims to minimize injuries to the ureter during surgery. The company developed a low-powered electrical-stimulation technology to generate visible contractions in the ureter and other smooth-muscle structures when a patient undergoes invasive or robotic surgery. Allotrope has customized electrodes that are suitable to endoscopic, laparoscopic, and robotic surgical procedures.Additionally, Allotrope’s tissue-stimulation applications can be attached to a medicinal capsule as an ingestible device that can monitor and stimulate digestive movements in the gastrointestinal system.Allotrope is currently conducting an active clinical trial in Dallas and getting ready to put its product on the market by the end of 2019.
Based in California, SP Investment Fund focuses on socially positive real estate and emerging technology investments. In addition to being an active investor, developer and renovator of affordable housing for low and very low income seniors, families and disabled individuals, SP Investment Fund has also made significant investments in emerging health sciences and biotechnology companies, including Coral Genomics.Based in San Carlos, California, Coral Genomics is a biotech startup that has designed a proprietary platform to accelerate drug development and deployment by performing experiments on a vast database of cells and measuring and finding correlations with DNA and RNA expressions. Without Coral Genomic’s technology, such big data analysis has heretofore not been economically viable. Coral Genomics’ drug-response prediction system is a three-step process, which includes targeting variability, comparing it to other patients, and recommending treatment strategies.Coral utilizes the patient’s genetic profile and measures RNA expression to determine how likely the cells within the body will react to a specific drug. The profile consists of characteristics unique to the DNA of an individual or population, derived from the analysis of small samples of body tissues or fluids. As the patient’s susceptibility to a particular drug becomes clear, Coral can begin to perform experiments that will reduce variation across patients.Currently in its first year, Coral Genomics believes that this new platform will improve the efficiency of clinical trials and healthcare delivery.
Based in California, SP Investment Fund is a private investment company that primarily invests in socially positive investments. SP Investment Fund’s core business has been investing in, developing and/or renovating government-subsidized housing for low and very low income families, seniors and/or disabled individuals. In 2014, SP Investment Fund expanded its focus to include emerging-technology businesses whose businesses will have significant social impacts. One such company that SP has invested in is C16 Biosciences. C16 Biosciences has also received funding from YCombinator. C16 Biosciences is a Boston startup that concentrates on developing a sustainable alternative to producing palm oil through biotechnology, by bioengineering yeast to produce palm oil and related compounds. Palm oil is a commodity that has huge global demand and is used widely in food, skin-care, and clothing items. The palm oil industry is currently a $61 billion industry and growing rapidly. The sustainability problem is that palm oil can only be harvested in the tropics, and increasing palm oil production is resulting in rain forest deforestation. The resulting deforestation is a huge contributor to global warming, and also is endangering habitats and wildlife. Unfortunately, industry has continued to demand palm oil because there are no good substitutes in nature.
SP Investment Fund LLC is a Los Angeles, California-based organization that invests in affordable housing on a national basis. SP Investment Fund recently closed approximately $20 million in loans from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) 223(f) loan program in connection with the renovation of the Raymond Watkin Apartments and John Guy Prindle Apartments.In the most recent year for which data is available, HUD insured mortgages for 500 projects with a total of more than 70,000 units. Section 223(f), which is one of HUD’s most popular insured mortgage loan programs, is used to insure mortgage loans for existing multifamily rental housing. Section 223(f) loans are available to both for-profit and nonprofit entities and allow long-term mortgages up to a period of 35 years. In order to be eligible, a property must have a minimum of five 5 residential units with each unit having a complete kitchen and bathroom. The 223(f) loan program can be used for straight acquisitions, with or without renovation, and also for refinancing. If renovation is involved, any non-critical property repairs must be completed within 12 months of the loan closing. Typically, residential developments that require the replacement of more than one major property system are not eligible under this loan program.
Founded in 1990, Los Angeles-based investment firm SP Investment Fund invests in innovative medical technologies and socially impactful affordable housing communities. SP Investment Fund partners with LifeSTEPS, a nonprofit organization that provides case management and social services to low and very low income residents of affordable housing in California. LifeSTEPS advocates for legislation such as Proposition 1, which would allocate $4 billion in municipal bonds, also known as obligation bonds, to fund housing initiatives for families, individuals, seniors, and veterans with low incomes. In above-average priced property markets such as San Francisco and Portland, funding affordable housing projects with bonds is an effective way to provide housing for residents with low-incomes. These bonds often fund programs that tackle affordable housing from multiple angles, including building new affordable housing, renovating existing units, and developing down-payment assistance programs for homebuyers. Municipal bonds can be funded through property taxes or purchased as investment vehicles by private buyers.
SP Investment Fund, based in California, invests in, rehabilitates and preserves affordable housing housing. In December of 2017, an SP Investment Fund affiliate closed the financing for the purchase, renovation and preservation of two affordable housing communities for seniors in Upstate New York. Nixon Peabody LLP served as counsel to SP on the transaction. The total acquisition and development costs of the two transactions combined is in excess of $40,000,000. Among other sources, the financing for the transactions included tax-exempt bond financing through local issuers, four percent low-income housing tax credits, equity from CREA, LLC. The debt financing was facilitated by Hunt Mortgage and provided through Federal Housing Administration loan under the 223(f) loan program. The transaction is enabling approximatley $8,000,000 in renovations to occur that will preserve the property physically for the long term. In connection with the transaction, the affordability covenants have also been extended. The residents will not need to move out of the properties during the renovation process.
SP Investment Fund focuses on investments in affordable housing and emerging technologies with social impact. Working with public- and private-sector partners to develop and finance affordable housing units with attractive designs and modern amenities, SP Investment Fund is a long-term supporter of government housing assistance programs. One such government program which was created long ago are Flexible Subsidy (Flex Sub) Loans. Flex Sub Loans are secondary loan options attached to some of the housing projects financed through the Federal Housing Administration and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Flexible Sub Loans must be repaid when there is prepayment or expiration of mortgage, termination of mortgage insurance, or sale of a housing project. However, housing owners may request a Flexible Subsidy Loan Deferral. To apply for a loan deferral, housing owners must submit a deferral proposal that contains their financial statements of the past three years and a pro forma operating statement indicating all the transactions to be used for project purposes. The housing owner must show evidence of attempts made to refinance, either by applying for grants or additional loans. In addition, the housing owner must pass the Real Estate Assessment Center physical inspection and comply with fair housing and civil rights laws.
SP Investment Fund LLC is a private company seeking to make a positive impact through strategic investments in worthwhile causes. In addition to investing in efforts to build and preserve affordable housing communities, SP Investment Fund focuses on innovative startups in medical technology. One such startup, Zenflow, aims to revolutionize the treatment of a condition that affects more than 400 million men around the world. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), also known as enlargement of the prostate, often causes urinary obstruction. This can lead to a number of complications that can greatly impact the quality of life, such as increased difficulty or frequency of urination and interrupted sleep. Unfortunately, men face limited options for this condition. Drugs developed for the treatment of BPH have limited efficacy, and surgical options are invasive, expensive, and associated with sexual side effects. Zenflow has created an innovative new treatment that offers improved relief from BPH symptoms with fewer side effects. The San Francisco-based startup is pioneering the Spring System, a device that delivers faster relief from BPH symptoms with fewer side effects. Physicians can deploy the device in a single office visit with minimal discomfort for patients and limited risk of complications. Zenflow is testing the Spring System in clinical trials and hopes to release the innovative new treatment soon to the general public.
