Crosland's Jamie Dunn

Late last year the management of Charlotte, NC-based developer Crosland LLC announced that it was teaming up with Northwestern Mutual to spend $225 million on land buys. The purchases made in the newly formed Southeastern Land Fund will primarily go toward mixed-use projects that could total $1.5 billion. The partners are looking at sites in urban infill areas and growth corridors. The deal comes as Crosland has a number of developments underway. With the Canyon-Johnson Urban fund, the company is working on a $65-million mixed-use project in Nashville’s Gulch area. Crosland is also planning a mixed-use development in Charlotte with 109 residential units and 62,000 sf of commercial space. Jamie Dunn, Crosland’s VP of investments, recently spoke with GSR about the Southeastern Land Fund and his firm’s development trends.

GlobeSt.com: How did the Northwestern Mutual deal come about?

Dunn: We had considered this type of investment vehicle for about a year now. At the beginning of 2007, we went through a process of going to a handful of selected, potential capital partners with the proposed structure, which is what this investment fund became. There were a handful of seriously interested parties who we went through a lot of back and forth discussions with. We had done a number of one-off deals with Northwestern in the past, so we had a comfort level with them as a partner. And in the end, we got the most favorable terms with them.