Ashforth Pacific Involved in New Property Fund

PORTLAND, OR-The top three officials of locally based Ashforth Pacific are doubling up as key members of a new blind, closed-end fund that will acquire as much as $120 million in real estate in the US. The fund is a product of Ashforth Paradigm Capital Advisors, a joint venture real estate investment advisory firm formed by Ashforth Co., the Stamford, CT-based parent of Ashforth Pacific, and Paradigm Properties LLC, a Boston-based real estate investment and management firm. Hank Ashforth, CEO of Ashforth Pacific, is Ashforth Paradigm’s managing director in charge of investor relations, and Scott Langley, president of Ashforth Pacific, is Ashforth Paradigm’s managing director. Both are members of the investment committee. In addition, Doug Pugh of Ashforth Pacific is Ssnior vice president of West Coast investments. Langley tells GlobeSt.com that the new fund will close in May with upwards of $50 million. The company is putting up 10% of the total and the rest is coming from affluent individuals and family offices. “We know these people,” says Langley. “They are excited to co-invest with us.”The money will be leveraged into core-plus and value-add office, office/warehouse, flex/R&D, mixed-use, multifamily, retail and industrial properties, says Langley. The fund’s objective is to acquire, redevelop as appropriate, and manage durable assets in select Northeast, Northwest and West Coast markets where Ashforth already has holdings or has targeted for investment. The fund will generate a projected internal rate of return in the low to mid teens, net of fees. Ashforth Paradigm Capital Advisors was formed early last year to advise high–net-worth individuals and family offices. Separate from the fund, Ashforth Paradigm has closed on several properties through LLCs with other investors. Ashforth Co. has an ownership interest in eight million sf of office space and manages over 14 million sf.Ashforth Pacific owns and manages 20 blocks in the city’s Lloyd District, as well as several well-leased office towers. Several blocks are planned for major redevelopment. In addition, it is one of four development groups vying for the right to develop a headquarters hotel across from the Oregon Convention Center.