Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund Sells Florida Campus Back to School Operator, Fulfilling Role as "Bridge Developer"
Four years after developing a state-of-the-art charter school facility, the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund has sold Franklin Academy's Pembroke Pines campus back to the school operator.
The sale gives Franklin Academy full ownership and control of its facility, able to serve up to 2,600 students in grades K-12 on an extensive campus totaling nearly 200,000 square feet. The site was designed and developed specifically for the school by Turner-Agassi and opened in 2016.
"The sale of Franklin Academy's Pembroke Pines campus marks the culmination of our mission: to serve as a bridge developer and ?benevolent landlord' for high-performing charter schools while they mature and grow," said Bobby Turner, CEO of Turner Impact Capital, which manages the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund. "Franklin Academy now owns its campus, and our socially conscious investors have earned a financial return that enables us to continue scaling our impact across the country."
Turner-Agassi takes the lead in site selection, acquisition, design and construction for new school facilities, which are then leased back to school operators, who can purchase their schools once they reach full occupancy. The Franklin Academy campus was an investment of the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund I, which developed and delivered 64 schools on 33 campuses for high-performing charter school operators. With this transaction, schools representing approximately 92 percent of the original Fund's strategic investments have been successfully sold to the charter school operators serving students within the campuses.
A successor fund, Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund II, is continuing to develop campuses in urban communities nationwide. Together, the two Turner-Agassi funds have developed 96 schools to date, serving almost 50,000 students nationwide.
The expansive campus at 5000 Southwest 207th Terrace in the City of Pembroke Pines, Florida, includes specialty rooms for music and art, computer labs, a large cafeteria, 3-story gymnasium, athletic fields, and jogging paths. The almost 40-acre campus is home to a K-8 elementary and middle school, as well as a high school focused on college preparation.
"We are excited to take ownership of our beautiful, spacious campus, designed to be student-focused and learning-friendly in order to help our students reach their fullest potential," said Dr. David Thomas, Chairman of the Board of Franklin Academy. "Our partnership with Turner-Agassi has allowed us to remain focused on education while a dedicated team of experts developed this cutting-edge facility, now our permanent home."
Securing high-quality, long-term facilities is often one of the greatest impediments faced by charter school leaders. Turner-Agassi provides resources, development experience and a passion for educational excellence to help top school operators focus on their first priority: helping students succeed. A joint venture of Turner Impact Capital and Agassi Ventures, Turner-Agassi is backed by a world-class group of institutional investors who share a commitment to effecting positive societal change in urban centers across the United States.
"Franklin Academy offers Florida students a world-class education, and are now doing it in a facility they fully own," said Glenn Pierce, Turner Impact Capital's President of Education Initiatives. "The fact that more than 90 percent of the strategic investments of our original Fund have been sold back to school operators speaks to the effectiveness of the Turner-Agassi model. This scalable, sustainable solution gives great educators the facilities they need to make a positive difference for students in communities across the nation."
Turner-Agassi is operated by Turner Impact Capital, one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing investment firms dedicated to social impact. Since opening its doors in 2014, Turner Impact Capital has made significant investments to address three core challenges: K-12 public education, affordable workforce housing, and outcome-based healthcare in underserved urban communities. In total, these investments have directly impacted more than 100,000 lives across the nation.
About the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund
The Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund, managed by Turner Impact Capital, is the nation's largest market-driven real estate fund dedicated to accelerating the growth of high-performing, urban charter schools. The Fund enables more students to attend great schools by developing learning-friendly facilities for best-in-class charter school operators. Since its inception in 2011, the Fund has opened 96 schools serving almost 50,000 students throughout the United States. For more information, please visit www.turnerimpact.com.
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