NBT Bank and CEI-Boulos Capital Management have launched the NBT CEI-Boulos Impact Fund, a $10 million real estate equity investment fund with NBT Bank as the sole investor.
The fund is designed to support individuals and communities with low and moderate income through investments in high-impact, community supported, commercial real estate projects located within the bank’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) assessment areas in New York.
The project investment area includes Warren and Washington counties.
“As a community bank, NBT is committed to the communities we serve,” said, NBT Bank President and CEO John H. Watt, Jr. “This includes doing our part to create stronger, healthier neighborhoods. We believe that investments in projects that deliver critical affordable housing can also have a ripple effect in supporting job creation and strengthening our communities.”
The NBT CEI-Boulos Impact Fund is managed by CEI-Boulos Capital Management, a fund management company focused on delivering competitive financial returns and social impact. CEI-Boulos helps banks achieve their CRA objectives by organizing and managing funds that invest in financially attractive, high-impact commercial real estate projects that benefit the communities in which they are located.
CEI-Boulos prioritizes projects that represent collaborations between various entities—including non-profits, local and state government, philanthropic institutions, banks, community development finance institutions, community-based organizations, private investors, and local developers—that share a vision for their community.
“We’re thrilled to be working with NBT Bank on this innovative fund to invest in high-impact, community supported real estate projects in New York state,” said Sam Spencer, chief executive officer and managing director, CEI-Boulos Capital Management.
Officials said NBT will create a social impact advisory board to evaluate redevelopment and new construction projects, such as multi-family, mixed-use, industrial, office, retail and hospitality projects that closely align with community needs. The advisory board will provide input related to the social and environmental impacts of the fund’s proposed investments. Areas of targeted impact will include: projects that support job creation; affordable and workforce housing; Main Street revitalization/historic preservation developments that do not contribute to gentrification/displacement; developments that serve non-profit organizations; and environmentally sustainable real estate developments.
CEI-Boulos Capital Management is a real estate investment fund management company focused on delivering both competitive financial returns and social impact. The company serves banks, family offices, and other institutional investors, and has a national scope. Learn more at www.ceiboulos.com.
NBT Bank offers personal banking, business banking and wealth management services from locations in seven states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut. The bank and its parent company, NBT Bancorp., are headquartered in Norwich, N.Y. and had assets of $12.1 billion as of March 31.
More information about NBT is available online at www.nbtbank.com. Member FDIC.