By Dana Bykowski
February 3, 2003

CitiesFirst™/ Nehemiah Corporation of California, the nation's leading provider of down payment gift assistance has announced on Monday, January 27th that they have raised $26 million in first round financing for the Nehemiah Sacramento Valley Fund (NSVF). Sponsored by the Nehemiah Community Reinvestment Fund, NSVF is a real estate equity fund created to invest in mixed-use development projects in low and moderate-income communities across the six-county Sacramento Valley Region as well as the cities of Lodi, Stockton and Modesto. Only the third equity fund of its kind in California and the first in the Sacramento region, the Nehemiah Sacramento Valley Fund offers enabling capital to for-profit and non-profit developers dedicated to building quality mixed-use affordable housing and other commercial facilities in underserved neighborhoods.

Managed by Pacific Coast Capital Partners, NSVF is modeled after its predecessors: the Bay Area Smart Growth Fund, also managed by Pacific Coast Capital Partners, and the Genesis LA Fund. These funds enable institutional investors to make sound equity investments in community development projects. Investors in the NSVF include: California Federal Bank, California State Automobile Association, Nehemiah Corporation, Union Bank, Washington Mutual, and Wells Fargo Bank.

"The Nehemiah Sacramento Valley Fund is a significant part of our organization's overall strategy to encourage urban renewal through comprehensive, geographically-focused affordable housing and community redevelopment programs," said Scott Syphax, president and chief executive officer of the Nehemiah Corporation. "In developing the Sacramento Valley Fund, we-ve created an investment vehicle that will achieve significant financial returns for institutional investors while giving them the opportunity to support the communities that they serve. We greatly appreciate the participation of all of our investment partners and are looking forward to the next phase in the process of rebuilding the Sacramento Valley region."

In addition to mixed-use facilities, NSVF will develop commercial real estate properties such as shopping centers and office complexes.

California State Treasurer Phil Angelides- "Double Bottom Line" initiatives have directed more than $12 billion in investment capital - through state programs and the State's pension and investment funds - to create economic growth and sustainable development in California communities. Angelides said, "Investments like the Nehemiah Sacramento Valley Fund are critical to broadening economic opportunity within California communities and to strengthening our State's social and economic fabric."

"Investing in -inner-city- communities within the Sacramento Valley is critical to the economic growth and stability of our state capital as well as the state," said Don Kuemmeler of Pacific Coast Capital Partners. "There is a tremendous amount of buying power in these neighborhoods as well as a strong employment base. We are confident that the organizations that participate in the Fund will realize a real return on their investment."

The Nehemiah Sacramento Valley Fund is scheduled to close its second and final round of equity investment funding by June 2003. CitiesFirst™ Chair, Mayor Michael Brown of Columbus, OH believes that development of more mixed —use housing projects throughout the country similar to the Sacramento Valley Fund, will allow cities to reap significant economic and social benefits.

"Too many neighborhoods have seen generations of disinvestment and neglect and these kinds of equity funds are designed to reverse that trend," said Mayor Coleman. "We need to drive re-investment into our cities and recreate vibrant residential neighborhoods where families are safe and want to live."