PHOENIX-Vestar has launched a retail investment fund, Vestar Strategic Retail Partners, looking to raise $250 million of equity capital by mid-year 2012. The fund will acquire value-add retail properties ranging from $20 million to $100 million in the West and Southwest regions of the US.
The reserve will consider individual properties and portfolios, according to a prepared company statement. Once raised, the collective will be Vestar’s exclusive vehicle for acquiring properties. Dallas-based Stephen Inc. is marketing it to investors.
“We believe this is a great time to invest in value-add retail properties,” explains Bob Cavanaugh, chief investment officer of Vestar. “With our firm’s track record of acquiring and stabilizing struggling assets, we are confident that our in-house capabilities will create meaningful value for the fund’s investors.”
Cavanaugh was hired in October and is based in the firm’s Phoenix headquarters. He was brought onboard to oversee the raising of third-party equity capital, and to identify investment opportunities and structure JV’s in pursuit of achieving the firm’s overall investment goals. Prior to joining Vestar, he served as managing director for DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners.
In the last two years Vestar has acquired more than $400 million in shopping center assets in conjunction with institutional partners. Currently, it manages more than 21 million square feet of retail properties with an average occupancy of 97%.
Vestar’s strategy is to attain and reposition properties with a three to seven year hold period. The firm targets leveraged returns in the mid to high teens.
As GlobeSt.com recently reported, in a JV with New York City-based Rockwood Capital, the firm acquired the District at Green Valley Ranch, a 384,107-square-foot landmark retail property located outside of Las Vegas, for $79 million. The all-cash deal was the city’s second largest commercial real estate investment transaction in three years, according to the two companies.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
