Avanath Development, LLC, a multifamily development company specializing in market rate and affordable housing, has partnered with Opportunity Assets Group, LLC (OAG) to launch a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund (QOF) with a target goal of $300 million.

The Avanath QOF offers investors a 7-year deferral and 15 percent reduction of tax on realized capital gain, whether short term or long term, and the complete elimination of new capital gains on Opportunity Zone (OZ) investments held for at least 10 years.

Avanath Chairman Daryl J. Carter said that four initial properties are well positioned to benefit from substantial improvements or construction: Woodside Apartments in Ontario, Calif.; Arbors of Cary in Cary, N.C.; Ravenna Apartments in Orlando; and North End Landings in Detroit.

According to Carter, families with annual incomes of $30,000 to $80,000 comprise the largest rental-housing segment in the country, with affordable and workforce housing consistently outperforming the Class-A multifamily market for the last several years as a result of low vacancy rates and above-average rent growth.

Carter said that Avanath’s partnership with San Francisco-based consultant OAG would mitigate long-term real estate and market risks in low-income areas, while helping the Avanath QOF navigate tax provisions of the OZ program.

Avanath Development was founded in 2008 is headquartered in Irvine, Calif. Its affiliates own 79 properties in 12 states, with $1.7 billion in assets under management.