Griffin Capital Release Latest Economic Impact Report for OZ Funds

Griffin Capital Company LLC, a private real estate investment manager and sponsor of qualified opportunity zone funds, announced the updated findings of its opportunity zone fund platform economic impact analysis report. The firm had previously published an analysis in 2024.

“With over $1.9 billion in equity raised across four rental housing-focused qualified opportunity zone funds, comprising 30 multifamily properties with a total project cost of $3.5 billion, Griffin Capital remains committed to achieving both terrific outcomes for investors and meaningful, positive contributions to the communities in which we invest,” stated Nick Rosenthal, co-CEO of Griffin Capital Company.

“Six years removed from the launch of our first opportunity zone fund, we wanted to better understand and report to our stakeholders on the impact this program has had, and will continue to have, on the communities in which we are investing. The capital formation that we have stewarded as a result of this program is helping to address critical issues like housing affordability and accessibility at a time when new housing starts have declined dramatically,” Rosenthal continued.

He added, “The development of these communities creates additional jobs at a time when there is economic uncertainty and housing at a time when affordability is severely challenged. The communities we are developing will be additive to economic security and long-term growth in these census tracts. Housing affordability is best addressed by the creation of new supply, and the opportunity zone program is a perfect example of how providing appropriate incentives to the private sector can help solve important policy issues. It is the quintessential win-win.”

The economic impact analysis report provides insights into the estimated contributions to local economies resulting from the development and operations of the multifamily communities within Griffin Capital’s qualified opportunity zone funds. These projections are based on estimated development costs and operational data as of Dec. 31, 2024, and cover the expected hold period of each property.

Key findings from the analysis include:

• More than $7.5 billion in total estimated economic impact.
• 3,382 estimated average annual jobs supported across the development and operational phases.
• More than $5.4 billion in direct economic impact from the development and operations of the multifamily properties.
• More than $783 million in indirect effects, reflecting business-to-business transactions across the supply chain.
• More than $1.3 billion in induced effects, representing additional economic activity generated as employees and businesses spend their income within the local economy.

Griffin reported that these estimates were generated using IMPLAN’s regional economic analysis software, an industry leader in economic impact analysis. IMPLAN’s software uses the input-output, or I-O, economic modeling technique pioneered by Nobel Prize winner Wassily Leontief to capture the effect of economic activities.

Griffin’s report comes just after the company has broken ground on a new OZ-funded project in Florida and at a time when the OZ program itself is facing the possibility of many key updates, including mandatory reporting.

Lack of reporting on the impact of qualified opportunity zones has been a primary criticism of the program, which has contributed to sponsors such as Griffin and Capital Square proactively providing economic analysis regarding the impact of their programs.

Griffin Capital Company is a full-service real estate investment and management company. Since 1995, it has owned, managed, sponsored, and/or co-sponsored approximately $24 billion in assets across a wide range of real estate sectors and investment structures. Griffin’s senior executives and employees have co-invested over $300 million in various investment verticals.

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