Jamie Nahon, president at Eagle Infinite Investments LLC, talks about the company’s award-winning mixed-use land renovation and community engagement project across the historic Bronzeville district of Chicago. The Eagle OZ project was selected as one of the two winners of America’s Most Impactful Project award—which was awarded to the project that emphasized positive social impact—at the shark tank-style America’s Top Project competition held during the Opportunity Zone Expo in Denver.



Tell us about your project that won America’s Most Impactful Project in Denver?

Eagle OZ is building 264 multi-family rentals in the up-and-coming area of Bronzeville in Chicago. On the shores of Lake Michigan, in the heart of the nation's third largest city, historic Bronzeville is being revitalized with over $10 billion of economic growth and 55,000 new jobs setting the stage for catalytic market growth and appreciation. Bronzeville is steps away from the new Obama Presidential Center and home to the $3.8 billion Bronzeville Lakefront project with 7.8 million square feet of new mixed-use space, both breaking ground this year. Eagle OZ offers investors a venue to participate in this wave of financial and social upside with the added bonus of OZ incentives.

Eagle OZ projects a 20% annualized 10-year return (post tax adjusted IRR) with 6% interim cash distributions. Current market value of Eagle OZ units is $350,000 per door, while our cost is $300K, so we are coming out of the gate with value creations. In 10 years, our exit plan is to sell these units as condos to homebuyers. We are currently raising $20 million for Eagle OZ Fund II.

Specifically, Eagle OZ is building 264 multi-family units across infill vacant lots, delivering 283,000 sq. ft. of new living space for more than 1,300 people, without displacing anyone, with a target 20% affordability ratio. Part of our business plan has always been to improve quality of life for our tenants and Eagle OZ is pleased to provide features that improve living comfort and safety in Bronzeville, as measured by IRIS and impact standards. We are creating at least 150 new construction jobs and 10 new permanent jobs, drawing at least 25% from the local labor pool, and at least 10% of our construction work is subcontracted to minority owned businesses.

Tell us about the National Heritage Area Act in relation to your project?

Bronzeville is before Congress to be named a National Heritage Area because of its historical significance as a hub of Black culture leaving an outsized footprint on America. The likes of Nat King Cole, Gwendolyn Brooks and Louis Armstrong, amongst many others, found fame here. If the Bronzeville-Black Metropolis National Heritage Area Act is approved by Congress, National Park Service will be engaged to maintain Bronzeville, directing public funding to tell this nationally important story and preserve its remaining buildings and traditions. Eagle OZ is honored to do its part to revitalize this important corner of American history.

How would you describe your company, and what is your professional background?

We are a vertically integrated property development and operations company. We build and handle property management internally. Personally, I have been managing real estate funds for nearly 20 years and I have the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation. My partner Scott Allbright (PE) has been a licensed general contractor in Chicago for the past 30 years.

We are a local team that has been in the business of developing affordable housing in Chicago for many years. When the OZ came to our backyard, we jumped at the opportunity to use these unprecedented tax incentives to drive much needed private capital into our home market. Our main office is located just south of Bronzeville with our team of 15 local people managing Eagle OZ construction and operations. We are a boutique OZ fund focused on this one small submarket of Chicago.

What did it mean for you to win and how did the participation in the competition help with your fundraising?

Winning this competition provided validation that Eagle OZ is truly setting in motion a long-lasting positive change. Positive change has always been a primary reason for doing what we do in Chicago. It is very satisfying to receive recognition for Eagle OZ’s efforts to use the OZ incentives for what they were intended to do. Our hope is that this award will draw more investors to place their capital gains in Bronzeville, and specifically Eagle OZ. Our marketing is focused on the $10 billion catalytic growth and 55K new jobs happening here, as a means to draw investors, as it's a great story to justify parking money for 10 years with the added OZ benefits, offering the compelling promise of great financial and social upside, and enabling Eagle OZ to continue to actualize our agenda of job creation and housing quality improvement.

What advice would you like to give other companies competing in upcoming competitions?

You need to be able to measure and communicate the impact made by your company. You need to be passionate about this impact and about your project, and be able to communicate that you are setting positive change in motion.

How much have you raised to date in your OZ fund? How is deal flow looking so far this year?

We have raised $5 million through our personal network. In an effort to reach the larger OZ investing public and complete our $20 million raise for Eagle OZ Fund II, we are about to launch a marketing campaign to RIAs. We have commissioned a third-party due diligence report to provide assurances to new investors who have yet to invest with us. We have also engaged a registered broker to assist with the capital raise. There seems to be ample OZ capital out there. Hopefully these efforts will help us reach full subscription by the end of the year and allow us to build out Eagle OZ's business plan.

What do you think Opportunity Zones can accomplish for distressed areas?

Incentivize and direct private capital into these distressed areas to push revitalization forward with a domino effect leading to economic growth and betterment of the distressed area, drawing even more private capital which would have otherwise gone elsewhere. OZ incentives can also make these opportunities more economically viable. Awareness of the OZ impact shines a bigger light on the importance of social impact for those OZ investors who otherwise might not have considered impact as a criterion for investment.

What do you think we can expect from the new Biden administration when it comes to OZs?

We are hoping that the Biden administration will extend the tax deferral period beyond 2026. Perhaps a trailing date tied to the date of OZ investment, instead of a hard date.


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