Woodforest CEI-Boulos Opportunity Fund Closes Over $1.3 Million Opportunity Zone Equity Investment

Mixed-use, partnership-driven project delivers affordable housing, grocery and health care access, and hundreds of jobs

The Woodforest CEI-Boulos Opportunity Fund, a high-impact commercial real estate Opportunity Zone fund established in August 2019 by Woodforest National Bank® and CEI-Boulos Capital Management, recently closed on $1.33 million in equity capital, the first private equity committed to and invested in the Sharswood Ridge project to help revitalize the Sharswood neighborhood in Philadelphia. The project will build affordable and workforce housing and retail development, including a grocery store (Grocery Outlet), a bank branch, and an urgent care medical clinic, all of which the neighborhood desperately needs. The 234,000 square foot project is a key component of a comprehensive plan spearheaded by the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) to rebuild the long-underinvested Sharswood community, a federally designated "food desert" and "severely distressed" area.