Arctaris Launches Southwestern Pennsylvania Opportunity Zone Program; Completes First Regional Investment; Hires Pittsburgh Local Lee Kimball

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Arctaris Impact Investors, LLC (“Arctaris”) along with the Richard King Mellon Foundation (“the Foundation”) announce the launch of the Arctaris Southwestern Pennsylvania Opportunity Zone Program and first investment in the region.

The $20M program will invest in projects that support economic development, workforce training and sustainable job creation in the 72 low-income census tracts qualified as Opportunity Zones within Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. The Foundation invested the first $4 million of catalytic capital that Arctaris utilized as a springboard to launch the program. Arctaris is planning to invest in operating businesses, real estate, public infrastructure, renewable energy, and broadband.

“Our Board was willing to lead on this exciting initiative because private investment is the most effective way to create prosperity at scale,” said Foundation Director Sam Reiman. “This Opportunity Zone will bring new private investment to Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. And Arctaris has a strong track record of working collaboratively with local leaders to ensure the projects they select will be positive for the community.”

Arctaris’s recent investment in S&K Holdings, Inc. (“S&K”), the owner of Family Choice Healthcare, is an example of the type of minority-owned operating business the Arctaris Southwestern Pennsylvania Opportunity Zone Program will likely fund. S&K is a home healthcare company that provides personal care services for the disabled and elderly with operations in Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington, DC. Arctaris’s investment will allow S&K to expand services throughout Pennsylvania, specifically in Pittsburgh (Allegheny County) and Altoona (Blair County). S&K plans to establish a regional office in the Hill District of Pittsburgh and a satellite office in Altoona which will create jobs and serve residents in these communities.

“S&K is pleased to be selected for this type of community building investment by Arctaris,” said Steve Taylor, Owner of S&K Holdings, Inc. “In economically uncertain times, it’s important to invest in and create jobs in vulnerable communities. We are committed to doing that. Our expansion in Pittsburgh and Altoona creates approximately 600 jobs overall and 325 in Pittsburgh. We are tremendously excited for the work ahead and look forward to getting started.”

Additionally, Arctaris announced the hire of Lee Kimball as the Pittsburgh Investment Director. Mr. Kimball has strong ties to Pittsburgh’s entrepreneurial and investment communities. Prior to Arctaris, he was the COO and CEO of three venture and private equity backed international companies in Pittsburgh, building operations, supply chains, and sales teams in the US, Europe, Australia and Central America. He remains on the Board of Thread (the parent company of Day Owl and First Mile), a social impact company based in an Opportunity Zone, Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood. Mr. Kimball is responsible for working with local community stakeholders to manage the Pittsburgh impact strategy, discover and evaluate investment opportunities, and work with portfolio companies to grow their businesses.

“Pittsburgh has had an amazing economic growth story over the past few decades- unfortunately it’s not uniform across the region,” said Mr. Kimball. We have dozens of Opportunity Zone neighborhoods here that are disconnected from traditional capital and the prosperity that can come with thoughtful investment. I was excited to learn that Arctaris was launching a program here to help combat that disconnect and am honored to be selected to lead that effort.”

Jonathan Tower, Founder and Managing Partner at Arctaris, Uche Osuji, Managing Director at Arctaris, and Anita Graham, Principal at Arctaris, participated in transparent discussions regarding the future of the program at a recent community engagement event attended by Mayor Bill Peduto and over 50 local philanthropic, public, and private sector leaders. Arctaris plans to create a Southwestern Pennsylvania Community Advisory Committee to ensure local and diverse stakeholder engagement throughout the life of the program specifically with representation from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.

About Arctaris Impact Investors

Arctaris Impact Investors, LLC is a Boston-based impact investment firm with experience spanning more than 12 years, six funds, and both debt and equity investments. The firm manages funds which invest in growth-oriented operating businesses and community infrastructure projects located in underserved communities. Founded in 2009, Arctaris has partnered with the Kresge Foundation, Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter’s Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, and multiple other foundation, federal and state government agencies to invest in Opportunity Zones, inner cities and targeted rural communities throughout the U.S., with the aim of delivering above-market investment returns alongside positive social impact.

For more information visit www.arctaris.com or for press inquiries contact [e-mail].

About the Richard King Mellon Foundation

Founded in 1947, the Richard King Mellon Foundation is the largest foundation in southwestern Pennsylvania, and one of the 50 largest in the world. The Foundation’s projected 2020 year-end endowment was $3.1 billion, and its Trustees in 2020 awarded grants and Program Related Investments totaling $130 million. The Foundation focuses its funding on six primary program areas, delineated in its 2021-2030 Strategic Plan.