Pembrook helps schools where it has investments

Pembrook Capital Management LLC is investing in public schools in the neighborhoods in which it already invests, adhering to the idea that strong public schools can also help strengthen investments.

The real estate money management firm's latest contribution is a $3,500 gift to Noble Academy, a public charter high school in Chicago. The school is in the same neighborhood as the Mark Twain Hotel. In 2016, Pembrook extended a $16.6 million bridge loan to NHP Foundation, which bought the hotel in Chicago's Gold Coast Historic District to convert it into affordable housing, said Nicole Cacal, New York-based investment relations associate at Pembrook. The Chicago Community Loan Fund and U.S. Bank also provided debt and equity for the transaction.

"The current administration in Washington, D.C., has a stated purpose of promoting public/private partnerships. In addition, they have adopted policies and a proposed budget that would reduce the amount of public funding available to public schools," said Stuart J. Boesky, Pembrook's founder and CEO, in a written statement. "With these policies in mind, Pembrook has decided to provide grants to public schools located in the neighborhoods where we do business."

Nobel Academy is open to all students in the Chicago public school system. There are no admission tests or tuition. The school uses the Harkness Method, which promotes student discussion-based learning, Ms. Cacal said.

Nobel Academy is the fifth school to receive a donation from Pembrook, which launched the program this past spring. Pembrook has also donated to public schools in Washington, Los Angeles and Sacramento, Calif.