“Paragon Commercial Group is an ideal partner for the Canyon Catalyst Fund, which is focused on identifying talented real estate investors and providing the necessary support to grow their capabilities,” said Bobby Turner, chairman and CEO of Canyon Capital Realty Advisors, in a statement. “We are hopeful this new partnership will translate to unique acquisition opportunities and broaden Paragon's commercial investment platform.”

“We are honored to be selected as the retail partner to invest this new fund alongside the team at Canyon, which has a proven track record in urban investing,” said Dillavou. “We see our new partnership with Canyon as a great opportunity to leverage our retail investment capabilities and take advantage of the growing number of value-add opportunities in the retail space.”

Maria Stamolis, managing director at Canyon Capital, tells GlobeSt.com that the new Catalyst fund is “an important platform to support. We think it's important that talent out there is grown.”

The fund intends to eventually set up four or five JV deals. “The goal is not to have any of the managers competing directly with each other,' says Stamolis. The JV program is a “fairly structured process. We set it up with very formal investment requirements with regards to underwriting. There are checks and balances.”

Potential partners are sourced through referrals, direct submissions, and via CalPERS recommendations, Stamolis says, adding that the Paragon team has “outstanding relationships with retail tenants and has a great sense of how to optimize property layouts, improve operations, and plug into the local market.”

As previously reported by GlobeSt.com, Rubicon Point Partners of Northern California was the first joint venture partner selected for the Canyon Catalyst program.