April 20, 2022
Los Angeles, CA—April 20, 2022– David Grunwald has been promoted to Managing Director of SDS Capital Group’s $150 million Supportive Housing Fund, announced Deborah La Franchi, Founder & CEO, SDS Capital Group (SDS). As Managing Director, Grunwald will leverage his underwriting and asset management skills overseeing both project and fund level activities for the SDS Supportive Housing Fund (SHF). SHF provides land acquisition and construction financing for projects to house people experiencing homelessness in California. SHF is a first-of-its-kind impact fund that is a new model for alleviating homelessness through the use of private capital.
Grunwald joined SDS Capital Group in November 2021 as Senior Vice President. His seasoned expertise and contributions to the activities undertaken by the Fund are expected to be substantial – given his 30 years of experience in affordable and permanent supportive housing in the Los Angeles region.
“David really hit the ground at a full sprint when he joined SDS in November. From day one, his deep experience in permanent supportive housing really accelerated our efforts and has helped make us more effective. We are thrilled to have him in a leadership role with the SDS Supportive Housing Fund,” said La Franchi. “His depth of experience and dedication to successfully launching such a cutting-edge approach to housing those experiencing homelessness has proven to be crucial to maximizing the Fund’s effectiveness.”
In his new role, Grunwald will be responsible for all day-to-day management and operations of SHF. He will collaborate with the SDS team to finance as many as 30 permanent supportive housing (PSH) development projects over the next six years. Grunwald’s primary function will be to analyze all project opportunities and make recommendations to the SHF Investment Committee. He will also oversee the asset management activities of the Fund once investments are undertaken – monitoring the development, construction, and operations of the SHF portfolio. At the fund level, Grunwald will assist SDS leadership in communicating performance, reporting financial information and achieving social impact goals.
“My new role as Managing Director of the SDS Supportive Housing Fund is the culmination of my entire career mission to find scalable solutions to housing the unhoused,” said Grunwald. “SHF’s goal to create at least 1,800 units of housing for the homeless over the next six years is an ambitious goal – I’m thrilled to be part of the team making this goal a reality. I’m thoroughly convinced that our talented SDS team will make it happen.”
SHF is usually the sole source of capital for PSH projects developed by RMG Housing – providing as much as 97% of the total acquisition and construction capital. The Fund’s “one-stop” model significantly reduces underwriting and closing time for typical PSH projects from an average of 5-7 years to approximately 24 months from initial underwriting to tenant move-in.
Prior to joining SDS, Grunwald was Senior Vice President, Los Angeles Region, for National Community Renaissance CORE where he led the organization’s Los Angeles Affordable Housing Development. Previous experience includes serving as President and CEO of Affordable Living for the Aging, American Sunrise Communities and L.A. Family Housing.
The SDS Supportive Housing Fund is on track to finance a total of 1,800 units of new permanent supportive housing, mostly in the Los Angeles area. To date, the Fund has financed a total of seven PSH projects (six in Los Angeles and one in the Bay Area) for a combined total of 385 newly constructed units of PSH.
Los Angeles-based SDS Capital Group serves as manager of the SDS Supportive Housing Fund. Founded in 2001 by Deborah La Franchi, SDS Capital Group manages a platform of impact investment funds – each with a distinct geography and investment strategy. SDS has been recognized for the past four years by ‘ImpactAssets 50’ as one of the top impact managers globally. With six funds and finance products on its platform, SDS currently manages over $1 billion in impact assets. The SDS Supportive Housing Fund is the company’s newest fund. It focuses solely on financing permanent supportive housing (PSH) developments in California that are financially sustainable and provide case management support services. Investors in the Fund include: Kaiser Permanente, Ally Bank, Synchrony Bank, Pacific Premiere Bank, East West Bank, Charles Schwab Bank, CIT Bank, the Weingart Foundation, First Republic Bank, Western Alliance Bank, Hudson Pacific Properties, California Community Foundation, and the Annenberg Foundation.
For more information, visit www.sdsgroup.com or email info@sdsgroup.com.
CONTACT & MORE INFO:
Contact Sybil MacDonald,
Marketing & Communications
sybil@marketing-comm.com
Tel: 323.376.8961
For more information on the SDS Supportive Housing Fund, click here.
MEDIA RESOURCES & DOWNLOADS:
