Combined Properties Pushes Into Mid-Atlantic

WASHINGTON, DC-Combined Properties Inc. a full-service real estate firm based on the West Coast, is using its long-standing Washington, DC office as a launching pad to expand its activities not only in the city, but throughout the Mid-Atlantic. In the District, the company is reviving its once-dormant development activities. It currently has between $30 million to $40 million of projects in its pipeline. To that end, it has tapped Richard Neville, a 25-year industry veteran, to join the firm as senior vice president of east coast development.

“He will be focused on finding new development opportunities for us, among other activities,” president Katherine Roberson tells GlobeSt.com. Right now the company is pursuing a number of possibilities, including a couple of land parcels in the DC area, she says. These would be mid-sized retail projects if the deals are consummated.

At the same time, the company is currently in talks with an institutional investor to launch a $200-million private equity fund that would invest in core retail assets in the Greater Washington metro area and California. This $200-million pool of capital–in levered dollars–would be Combined Properties’ second fund; it is close to completing its investment from its first fund that it launched with Blackrock.