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SAO PAULO, BRAZIL-GoldenTree InSite Partners of New York City has teamed with a fast-growing real estate developer based in this South American metropolis to invest $100 million of equity in projects throughout the country. Office and residential properties will be the focus of the strategic alliance between GoldenTree and Quality Desenvolvimento Imobiliario, a venture that has already secured its initial two investments.

"We are very excited to partner with a developer of Quality's caliber," GoldenTree InSite president Tom Shapiro says in unveiling the initiative. As it is, Shapiro's firm is already building three residential projects and one office complex on its own in Brazil, a commitment that Shapiro says underscores his firm's belief in the underlying fundamentals of the country. "Strong GDP growth, falling interest rates and an increasingly liquid mortgage market all point to continued strength in Brazilian real estate," he says. Among the projects GoldenTree InSite is already developing is a 1.07-million-sf office complex in Rio de Janeiro, while the three residential projects are all in Sao Paulo. They include a pair of 29-story buildings with 112 residences; two 34-story towers yielding 62 units; and Campo Belo, also a 220-unit complex that will also feature two towers.

From Quality's perspective, the partnership will give the 11-year-old company "access to tremendous real estate expertise" and the necessary capital to expand the firm's business, according to co-CEO Marcos Mariz de Oliveira Yunes. "We intend to develop first-class office and residential projects throughout Brazil, capitalizing on strong underlying economic fundamentals and demographic growth," says the Quality principal.