Red Hook Capital Partners helps charter schools design, build, and own their perfect campus.
Red Hook Capital Partners serves schools that make a powerful impact in their communities. We partner with high-quality schools that teach underserved students, ELL and students of color, as well as ones that provide free and reduced fee lunches, or offer unique aspects to education.
Red Hook is a special combination of finance and construction. Growing from co-founders Craig Underwood’s financial savvy and David Hyun’s deep knowledge of real estate development, Red Hook supports charter school leaders as they navigate bureaucratic red tape, construction complexity and tight timeframes. We’re (literally) invested in seeing you succeed.
Our Recent Projects
What They Say
“Red Hook believed in our team, believed in our vision and most importantly believed that we can change the lives of students in the Inland Empire. We're thrilled that we chose them as our bridge financing and happy to say we now own our school campus! ”
ALEX LUCERO, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF REAL JOURNEY ACADEMIES“Red Hook's deep knowledge of the charter school facility development process allowed us to keep focused on our students' academics and learning. I highly recommend the Red Hook team for facility financing and development.”
ERCAN AYDOGDU, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CEO OF CORAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE LAS VEGAS“For years now, Value Schools has worked hand-in-hand with Red Hook Capital to find, design and create magnificent schools for our students. From financing to development, Red Hook was with us every step of the way. ”
DAVID DOYLE, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF VALUE SCHOOLSMeet
the Team
The origin story of Red Hook Capital Partners informs the services it provides today. Together Craig and David have built a 12-person team that helps schools create top notch facilities to serve the underserved, all around the country.
Meet
the Team
Partner
Craig Underwood’s two-decade journey in public finance led him to launch Red Hook Capital Partners in 2013. He has oversight over all financing and fiscal guidance that the …
Craig Underwood’s two-decade journey in public finance led him to launch Red Hook Capital Partners in 2013. He has oversight over all financing and fiscal guidance that the firm offers.
Craig’s background includes serving as the chief executive of the BLX Group LLC, a leading public finance advisory and consulting firm for the past 20 years. Under his leadership, BLX has grown into a national firm with five offices across the country, representing hundreds of state/local governmental agencies and not-for-profits, including various charter school organizations. During his career, he has overseen debt, derivative and structured financial product transactions totaling over $40 billion in principal/notional amounts.
Partner
David Hyun is responsible for setting up all back office systems and operations at Red Hook. He provides support to the project managers, including troubleshooting development …
David Hyun is responsible for setting up all back office systems and operations at Red Hook. He provides support to the project managers, including troubleshooting development hurdles and identifying cost-saving solutions. He has over two decades of experience in corporate accounting, finance, real estate, and charter school management. More specifically, he has been developing, financing and operating charter schools since 2009. He has developed and financed over $500 million of charter schools, using conventional bank loans, new market tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, and various state bonds (QSCB, QZAB, Prop. 1D).
Prior to joining Red Hook, David worked for Westfield, Trammell Crow Company, Playa Capital Company (Playa Vista Master Development), and most recently he served as the CFO/COO at Alliance College Ready Public Schools in Los Angeles.
Vice President
As Vice President at Red Hook, Enrique handles the site selection process with clients while developing budget, schedules, and feasibility strategies. He also oversees the …
As Vice President at Red Hook, Enrique handles the site selection process with clients while developing budget, schedules, and feasibility strategies. He also oversees the project management team throughout the development process. With more than 25 years of planning, design and construction & project management experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, he has developed dozens of charter school projects for various Charter Management Organizations throughout Southern California . He previously worked with Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, Keller Construction Management Services, Warmington Homes California and the City of Santa Clarita.
Enrique is a LEED AP, NCARB-Certified, licensed architect in the State of California, and a member of the Design Review Board for the City of Whittier. Enrique has a degree in Architecture from the University of Southern California.
Project Manager
Project Manager
Project Manager
Project Manager
Project Manager
Financial Analyst
Controller
Marketing & Business Development Associate
Project Manager
Financial Analyst
Ownership provides autonomy. This means no constraints from the landlord or your authorizer. A school can control its own destiny -- plus, there will not be any further rental increases. Further, depending on the cost of your acquisition financing, your annual acquisition financing repayment may be materially lower than your lease payments.
Red Hook specializes in evaluating school campus development. We analyze risk -- including political, landuse and community support -- when trying to obtain permits to allow a school building on a property. We have an excellent track record of getting projects to the finish line and we are so confident that we guarantee it: if Red Hook does not get final approval for charter school use, a school can walk away from the project with no money out of pocket. We provide 100% of the financing -- the school does not pay anything until the property is move-in ready. We pride ourselves in understanding that each school is unique and has different needs; we make sure these needs are met through the design of the building.
Red Hook is led by David Hyun and Craig Underwood. David always has a school’s best interests in mind because he was an operator himself. He led the Alliance College-Ready Public School as its CFO/COO. He drove in-house development projects as the organization expanded campuses all while creating strong reserve funds. Craig has decades of experience working in the capital markets, specifically with charter schools. He knows the ins and outs of financing a project and knows how to make facility ownership affordable for schools. Together, the financing and development teams of Red Hook are a one-stop shop.
Red Hook offers a Lease to Own model. The model helps schools with limited enrollment (often due to space constraints); schools that have not received their renewal yet; and schools that have less-than-ideal cash reserves. It also helps schools avoid taking the risk of pre-development expenses to secure approval to build their campus. That risk includes costly out-of-pocket spending, a significant time investment, as well as the potential failure to gain approval. Overall, the Lease to Own model helps to create an affordable and responsible path to facility ownership.
Charter schools with strong credit (think great FICO score) can directly access a variety of permanent financing options. Schools who are younger might not have the necessary longevity to be viewed as credit worthy, and thus likely will have a greater difficulty accessing traditional financing. Credit worthiness normally includes a solid history of financials, enrollment, and academics to gain favorable financing (think low interest rate). If a school decides to directly finance a project themselves through traditional means like philanthropy, new market tax credits, traditional bank loans or municipal bonds, the school will be liable for pre-development costs. If a school is unsuccessful in obtaining the approval to proceed with the project, the school will have spent $200,000-$800,000 of its valuable reserves with nothing to show for it. Red Hook takes this risk for the school with no financial commitment from the school if Red Hook fails to receive the necessary approvals.
You Ask,
We Answer
You Ask,
We Answer
Ownership provides autonomy. This means no constraints from the landlord or your authorizer. A school can control its own destiny -- plus, there will not be any further rental increases. Further, depending on the cost of your acquisition financing, your annual acquisition financing repayment may be materially lower than your lease payments.
Red Hook specializes in evaluating school campus development. We analyze risk -- including political, landuse and community support -- when trying to obtain permits to allow a school building on a property. We have an excellent track record of getting projects to the finish line and we are so confident that we guarantee it: if Red Hook does not get final approval for charter school use, a school can walk away from the project with no money out of pocket. We provide 100% of the financing -- the school does not pay anything until the property is move-in ready. We pride ourselves in understanding that each school is unique and has different needs; we make sure these needs are met through the design of the building.
Red Hook is led by David Hyun and Craig Underwood. David always has a school’s best interests in mind because he was an operator himself. He led the Alliance College-Ready Public School as its CFO/COO. He drove in-house development projects as the organization expanded campuses all while creating strong reserve funds. Craig has decades of experience working in the capital markets, specifically with charter schools. He knows the ins and outs of financing a project and knows how to make facility ownership affordable for schools. Together, the financing and development teams of Red Hook are a one-stop shop.
Red Hook offers a Lease to Own model. The model helps schools with limited enrollment (often due to space constraints); schools that have not received their renewal yet; and schools that have less-than-ideal cash reserves. It also helps schools avoid taking the risk of pre-development expenses to secure approval to build their campus. That risk includes costly out-of-pocket spending, a significant time investment, as well as the potential failure to gain approval. Overall, the Lease to Own model helps to create an affordable and responsible path to facility ownership.
Charter schools with strong credit (think great FICO score) can directly access a variety of permanent financing options. Schools who are younger might not have the necessary longevity to be viewed as credit worthy, and thus likely will have a greater difficulty accessing traditional financing. Credit worthiness normally includes a solid history of financials, enrollment, and academics to gain favorable financing (think low interest rate). If a school decides to directly finance a project themselves through traditional means like philanthropy, new market tax credits, traditional bank loans or municipal bonds, the school will be liable for pre-development costs. If a school is unsuccessful in obtaining the approval to proceed with the project, the school will have spent $200,000-$800,000 of its valuable reserves with nothing to show for it. Red Hook takes this risk for the school with no financial commitment from the school if Red Hook fails to receive the necessary approvals.
A school pays nothing until keys are delivered to the property and the school can move in. Then, the school makes payments to Red Hook in the form of lease payments until the school acquires the property from Red Hook.
Red Hook clients have access to a number of financing options, including traditional bank debt, philanthropic funding, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI’s), and the municipal bond market.
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