Bridge Investment purchases manufactured homes community for $30M

Bridge Investment Group, a real estate private equity firm in Utah, purchased a community of manufactured homes in Chicago’s southern suburbs for $30.08 million, as the housing, which is factory built and transported to a site, becomes a more affordable alternative for low income families.

Bridge Investment signed a deed on August 26th for a lot size of 43.65 acres at 4 Candlelight Drive in Sauk Village, about 30 miles south of downtown Chicago, using a $21.3million mortgage from KeyBank National Association, Cook County property records show. Sun Communities was the seller.

Candlelight Village offers 309 units of single-family three-and four-bedroom homes ranging from the upper $20,000 and upper $40,000-range, designed in ranch, colonial and contemporary styles.

Bridge Investment Group did not respond to requests for comment.

The purchase came as inventory for single-family homes in the Chicago area hit a record low early this year. The number of new homes in the Chicago metro area rose a mere 3.9 percent in the past decade, compared with a 6.7 percent increase nationwide in the same period.

While it has been harder for low income families to buy homes during the pandemic, manufactured housing has been an affordable alternative to traditional site-built homes, because it is 35 percent to 47 percent less expensive per square foot than new or existing built homes, according to a study from Urban Institute.

Bridge Investment Group is a privately held real estate investment management firm with $28.7 billion in assets under management across the U.S including 37,000 multifamily and affordable housing units and 11,500 senior housing units. The company’s strategy focuses on multifamily housing in metro areas and Opportunity Zones.

Since launching its Opportunity Zone funds in 2018, Bridge Investment Group raised at least $1.3 billion, becoming one of the few big firms to meet its fundraising goal for the federal tax incentive program that targets development projects in distressed areas.

The 47-story building at 1 North LaSalle Street, a landmark Loop office tower, is the most notable property in Bridge Investment’s Illinois portfolio, which the company bought for $113 million in 2018.