NJCC Invests $10M in California Mixed-Use Development

New Jersey Community Capital is taking its community development model to the West Coast, announcing a $10 million equity investment in The Walk, a mixed-use development project in Norwalk, California.

The Trenton-based nonprofit, which has spent nearly four decades financing affordable housing and economic development across New Jersey, is backing a project developed by Primestor, a Los Angeles firm with a track record in community-focused real estate. The investment marks a significant expansion of NJCC’s national footprint.

The Walk will transform an 8.2-acre, city-owned parcel at the intersection of Imperial Highway and Norwalk Boulevard, a site currently used for surface parking and municipal operations. Under a 65-year ground lease with the City of Norwalk, Primestor plans to build a phased, modular mixed-use development that connects directly to City Hall and the Norwalk Transit Center.

The full buildout calls for four mid-rise residential buildings constructed over podium parking, plus six standalone retail structures arranged around a central public plaza. The project will deliver 374 residential units, including 56 affordable units, and approximately 94,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Two podium garages will provide 685 parking spaces.

The residential component totals roughly 240,000 net rentable square feet, with studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units averaging 750 square feet. Open-air pedestrian corridors, outdoor dining areas, and civic green space are woven into the site plan, creating what the developers describe as a town-center environment in Norwalk’s downtown core. The city sits in Los Angeles County with a population of about 98,000.

The project also includes on-site solar generation expected to cut carbon emissions by 30 percent. Developers project 456 construction jobs and 324 permanent jobs at full buildout.

Bernel Hall, president and CEO of NJCC, framed the California investment as part of a deliberate push to extend the organization’s mission beyond state lines. “This project, in partnership with a highly regarded community-based developer, exemplifies our commitment to revitalizing neighborhoods not only in New Jersey but nationally,” Hall said. “This project in greater Los Angeles is a major step in the growth of NJCC and the positive impact we can have.”

Founded in 1987, NJCC operates as a nonprofit community development financial institution, or CDFI. CDFIs are federally certified organizations that channel capital into underserved communities where conventional financing often falls short. NJCC’s work spans affordable housing, community facilities, small business lending, and education, with most of its history rooted in New Jersey neighborhoods that struggled to attract private investment.

The California move signals that NJCC sees its model as exportable. Community development financial institutions have increasingly been looking for ways to scale their impact without losing the neighborhood-level focus that defines the sector. Partnering with an established local developer like Primestor gives NJCC a foothold in the Los Angeles market without having to build relationships from scratch.

The NJCC board connection to New Jersey’s broader economic development apparatus is worth tracking here. Evan Weiss, who leads the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, previously served as a board member at NJCC. The EDA and NJCC have overlapping missions in the state, both working to direct capital toward projects that generate jobs and community benefit. That network of relationships has helped NJCC build the credibility and balance sheet to take on an investment of this size outside its home state.

For Norwalk, a working-class city in the southeast corner of Los Angeles County, the project represents a substantial bet on downtown redevelopment. Converting underused municipal land into housing, retail, and public plaza space follows a playbook that has worked in New Jersey cities like New Brunswick and Asbury Park. Whether that model translates smoothly to a Southern California context will depend on execution, market absorption, and how well the affordable housing component holds up through the project’s phased construction timeline.

NJCC has not announced a completion date for The Walk, which is structured as a phased development. The organization’s $10 million equity stake suggests a long-term commitment to seeing the project through.