Lucern Capital Partners Launches Philadelphia Investment Fund

PHILADELPHIA – The New Jersey-based, private equity real estate firm, Lucern Capital Partners has launched a real estate investment fund, focused on multifamily and mixed-use investments the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

Lucern Philadelphia Value Fund I LP is targeting a minimum equity capital commitment of $25 million, with a targeted deployment of $75 million in asset value with leverage.

Lucern Capital Partners has been active in the Philadelphia area for the past decade.

Most recently, in late 2019, the firm acquired Del Campo Apartments in Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties neighborhood, and executed a multimillion dollar renovation and rebranding. The firm plans to utilize a similar strategy for the fund’s acquisitions.

The fund’s first acquisition is expected to close in early November.

“We are excited to continue our strong performance in the Philadelphia marketplace,” states Frank Forte, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Lucern Capital Partners’ managing partner and chief investment officer. “Philadelphia’s story improves further with each passing year, and the data is supportive of long-term expansion of the rental market. With consistently strong wage and employment growth, and one of the highest concentrations of millennials out of large cities in America, Philadelphia’s rental market is poised for long-term structural tailwinds that are supportive of our investment thesis.”

Forte continues, “While broad reports of tenant exodus from major cities as a result of COVID-19 are exaggerated, cities like Philadelphia are well positioned to benefit from telework/remote employment trends. We continue to see applicants in our buildings that have left New York City or New Jersey’s ‘Gold Coast’ and are intrigued by Philadelphia’s lower cost of living, vibrant food and nightlife scene, and easy accessibility to other large cities in the Northeast.”