OZFund breaks ground on Lancaster affordable housing project

The southernmost gateway to Lancaster City will soon have a new look. 

OZFund Inc. broke ground on a project that will transform the blighted remains of the former Rebman’s property at 800 S. Queen St. into a 52-unit apartment building and a 67,000-square-foot convenience and grocery store. 

Jeremy Feakins, founder and CEO of OZFund Inc., said the company’s mission is to provide affordable apartments for working families. This project, the company’s first, faced setbacks due to COVID-19, supply chain issues and increased interest rates, he said. 

During the groundbreaking Thursday morning, Feakins said, “This is a significant milestone in our work. It shows what’s possible for a community when everyone works together.” 

The grocery store, he said, will help residents who now live in “a food desert” by providing fresh foods in their neighborhood. 

“Right now, these families that mostly have one or no car, have to walk 1.2 miles to the grocery store. That is hard on the residents,” Feakins said. 

Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace said during the groundbreaking that the property has been vacant for decades and it is a tricky site to develop.  

Creating “workforce housing” will reshape this area, she said.  

“Our vacancy rate is among the lowest in the state,” Sorace said, adding the project will not only provide housing and a grocery store, but it will add to the tax base for the city. 

OZFund was founded in 2019 after Opportunity Zones were created as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to encourage long-term private investments in low-income urban and rural communities nationwide. 

Feakins said the opportunity zone program is intended to stimulate economic growth in those areas by providing tax benefits to investors. 

The project will be designed and managed by Steel Works Construction, who will act as the overall project manager and construction contractor. 

For this project, OZFund has secured a senior construction loan, and is supported by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania funding programs, including a $1.8 million low-interest loan from PENNVEST, a $1.0 million grant from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP), and an $800,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA).  

 OZFund has plans to develop additional properties in Opportunity Zone Funds in Central Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic Region.