Taconic, Nuveen Fund Targets New York City With $1B in Buying Power

Taconic Partners and Nuveen Real Estate have closed their second fund, New York City Property Fund II with $260 million in commitments. The equity commitments along with leverage and strategic co-investment gives the fund buying power of more than $1 billion.

Through the fund, Taconic Partners and Nuveen Real Estate will invest across all real estate asset classes in the Greater New York area, and the fund expects to take advantage of opportunities created by and during the pandemic. The fund has already closed its first acquisition, West End Campus, a 400,000 square-foot office building with an additional 105,000-square-foot parcel. The fund purchased the properties for $230 million.

The fund plans to convert the property into a life science facility, and has already secured $393 million of construction financing from funds managed by Apollo Global Management, Inc. and Oaktree Capital Finance. The current plans for the renovation include a purpose-built lab infrastructure, a new high-performance façade, a roof terrace, conference center, and dramatic new lobby. The project is scheduled to deliver in 2023.

It’s a popular investment thesis. The life science market in New York is poised for major growth. The city recently doubled its investment to the life science sector. Mayor de Blasio and the New York City Economic Development Corporation launched LifeSci NYC, a program to establish the city as a leading life science market, with an initial investment of $500 million. This week, the city announced that it would increase its investment to $1 billion.

Of course, the fund won’t invest in life science alone. Nuveen Real Estate and Taconic Partners have partnered together on more than $1 billion of investment and more than 1 billion square feet of space in New York City. In addition to life science, it will target other growth industries, like content production, with this fund.