CalPERS Investing in Central Mexico Industrial

MEXICO CITY-The California Public Employees’ Retirement System will invest $50 million over the next three years in Central Mexico industrial properties owned and developed by Corporación Inmobiliaria Vesta, S. de R. L. de C.V., a locally headquartered real estate owner and developer.Vesta´s current portfolio comprises 18 buildings totaling 1.6 million sf across six metropolitan areas in central Mexico: Mexico City, Queretaro, Tlaxcala, Toluca, San Luis Potosi and Cuautitlan in the State of Mexico. The properties are located in industrial parks with good access to the region’s principal highways. Their multinational tenants include BMW, Delco Remy, Hitachi, Georgia Pacific, Mars Inc., Hitachi, JSP International and Grammer.Vesta started operations six years ago with a majority of Mexican shareholders and a group of US investors based in San Diego, CA. Vesta CEO Lorenzo Berho says the investment by one of the largest pension funds worldwide “enables us to position ourselves in a higher business scale and dimension to continue developing the industrial base of Mexico.” The investment is being directed by Chicago-based LaSalle Investment Management, the real estate investment management arm of Jones Lang LaSalle. LaSalle’ director of Mexican operations Amy Erixon says the work “represents the first of several investments that will expand LaSalle’s platform in Mexico.” JLL Mexico president Pedro Azcue adds that LaSalle’s increased presence in the Mexico market will “substantially expand the range of services we can offer our clients.”