NFL star from Portland invests in this Boise affordable housing company
A development company owned by defensive end Ndamukong Suh of the 2021 Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers has invested in an Idaho affordable home manufacturer.
Suh is president of Portland-based HMS Development, which along with Bastogne Development Partnersof Pennsylvania, invested $5.8 million in IndieDwell, headquartered in Boise.
“We believe that attainable living is a crucial step in both individual and communal growth, which is why we are so proud to partner with IndieDwell to offer turnkey development and construction solutions to communities across the country,” Suh, HMS Development’s president, said in a news release.
HMS co-founder Joel Andersen is no stranger to the Treasure Valley. He is CEO of Portland-based Andersen Construction, which built the Thomas Logan, The Lucy and the Watercooler apartments and renovated the Tenth and Grove Building, all in downtown Boise.
Suh, who studied construction management at the University of Nebraska and lives in Portland in the offseason, has been active in the Young Black Professionals Workforce Housing initiative. It aims to house participants in an apprenticeship program for Portland residents seeking careers in construction, architecture and engineering.
The plan includes construction of a 16-unit apartment building in downtown Portland, where participants would live while serving apprenticeships with construction, architecture and engineering companies.
Bastogne Development Partners specializes in real estate projects that deliver social impact.
“This capital comes at a time when our sales pipeline is strong, therefore helping fuel our growth initiatives,” IndieDwell CEO Christina Ortiz Bluth said in the release.
“The cost and availability of housing is among the top list of concerns across our country, and we look forward to using this momentum to continue increasing the affordable housing inventory and creating jobs that pay livable wages.”
IndieDwell received national attention after creating affordable homes from used shipping containers. Earlier this year, the company announced it would stop using shipping containers and begin manufacturing modular homes using steel framing.
IndieDwell operates a 100,000-square foot factory in Pueblo, Colorado, that opened in July 2020. In May, the company announced plans to invest more than $2 million on a second factory in Newport News, Virginia. In its news release announcing the new investments, IndieDwell said it expects to announce new factory locations next year.
The company has been silent on its factory at 3520 Arthur St. in Caldwell. The 21,000-square-foot factory, which the company said was too small to meet its needs, closed earlier this year and the plant’s 61 employees were laid off. At the time, IndieDwell co-founder and executive chairman Pete Gombert said it would be “probably several months before we ramp back up.”
Gombert could not be reached by phone on Monday and Tuesday.
This story was originally published October 6, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
