For example, TPG recently took a 43% stake in Orlando-based Parkway Properties Inc., which it used to purchase the Hearst Tower in Charlotte’s CBD, a secondary market where it needed a local partner with experience, expertise and boots on the ground. “We are looking for a story,” he said. We like those markets, whether it is Florida, Atlanta, Houston, and we think the fundamentals are going to do much better,” he said.

Paul Curcio, a principal at Prudential Real Estate Investors in the company’s Parsippany, NJ office, said from an economic standpoint, Pru hasn’t changed the way it approaches new ventures. “Obviously back in 2007 we were getting into more of a waterfall structure and maybe we weren’t getting as much equity from our partners,” he said. “On that front, I would say we are very focused on getting the right alignment. It is all about integrity. Either they are going to do what they say they are going to do or not. Where we have spent more time is on our documents, making sure that if there is a situation where our partners aren’t living up to their side of the equation we can get them out, and we can get them out pretty quickly if we need to.”

On the capital side, Metz said the rise of sovereign wealth funds has had a huge influence on the JV marketplace. In addition, pension funds are also making a mark on the industry. Peter Ballon, vice president and head of real estate investments for the Americas of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, said the company recently partnered with the Goodman Group on raising $890 million toward a new logistics and industrial partnership, making it their first direct joint venture investment in the United States to date. Under the deal, Goodman and CPPIB have targeted an equity amount on a 55/45 basis, representing $490 million and $400 million, respectively.

Michael L. Ashner, chairman and CEO of Boston-based Winthrop Realty Trust, said the REIT recently formed a 50/50 joint venture to acquire Sullivan Center, an office/retail property for $128 million after buying an existing $146.6 million existing mortgage loan on the 942,000-square-foot property. Ashner said the REIT restructured the loan into a $100 million non-recourse mortgage loan by a third party lender and helped its JV partner profit.

But overall, he said partnerships go back to the principal point—human capital. “To some extent, people are going to have character, or they don’t,” he said. “They will stand by and assist and work through a bad investment or they won’t. You will make that judgment generally in the beginning. One element that has changed is that you see in our joint ventures, much more debt life covenants so we can quickly get more control if we need to.”