- Partnership to fund residential and mixed-use developments in U.S. and Canada
- Commitment redoubled with additions to senior leadership in capital markets team
Grosvenor Americas, a privately owned international developer and investor, announced the close of $300 million in its latest round of investment capital through its Structured Development Finance (SDF) division for True North III (TNIII), a limited partnership between Grosvenor, Nicola Crosby and Kingswood Capital. This third partnership continues to provide equity financing for residential and mixed-use developments in the North American gateway markets where Grosvenor develops and invests: Washington, D.C., the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Vancouver (Canada).
Combined with True North I & II, the Structured Development Finance Programme has raised nearly $1billionn in commitments since 2015. To support the acceleration of this strategy, Grosvenor added both Steve Guberer, formerly with CBRE, as Senior Vice President, Capital Markets to lead capital raising activities in the U.S. and Canada, and Jennifer Eskildsen as Vice President, Co-Investment to oversee SDF’s west coast activities in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and Orange County.
Grosvenor’s program seeks best-in-class developers in its chosen markets to deliver much needed housing. Projects range in scale from 50 to 450 units.
“Nicola Wealth has been involved with Grosvenor’s structured development finance business since 2015,” said Mark Hannah, Managing Director of Nicola Wealth’s Real Estate division. “This is the third iteration of True North and we remain, as ever, attracted to the expertise Grosvenor offers as a vertically integrated property company leveraging that experience to capitalise third party developers.”
Although the consortium of partners are Canadian investors, the program will invest mainly in U.S. markets owing primarily to supply/demand differences brought about by the pandemic:
“We recognize the structural shortage in supply of good quality urban infill housing in gateway cities in the U.S.,” said Alex Henderson, Senior Vice President of Co-Investment for Grosvenor Americas. “The housing demand and supply imbalance could become even more acute if developer pipelines do not remain full and this new phase of TNIII supports our ability to get new and needed product to supply-constrained regions efficiently.”
The first committed TNIII project to close is with Roadside Development for $15m to build a 10-story condominium project at Eighth and O Streets NW in Washington, D.C.’s Shaw submarket with 79 for-sale units, of which 24 are below market. Several other pipeline deals will close Q3 2021.
Grosvenor’s SDF business has acted as a capital provider to 72 residential development projects representing over 5,600 residential units and $4 billion in gross development value since 2000.
About Grosvenor Americas:
Grosvenor Americas has been an active developer and investor in several high-quality cities across the U.S. and Canada for 69 years. Our strategy is to invest in vibrant urban areas where our activities can make a positive contribution to neighborhoods and communities, which we deliver through our Living Cities approach. Since 2004, we have helped supply 12,300 quality homes and have transacted $4.6bn in investment property in the high-growth markets where we operate.
As one of the first North American signatories to the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, our business is guided by ESG principles and underpinned by a promise to achieve net zero operations by 2030.
We are active in the high-growth transit-oriented and/or amenity-rich neighborhoods of Seattle, Vancouver, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C.. Our Development Program focuses on residential mixed-use projects; most developments in our USD $2.7bn pipeline will deliver to LEED Gold standards. We also add value to residential, commercial and retail assets, actively managing a portfolio of 59 stable properties in our Investment Program. Additionally, we run a Structured Development Finance business that provides funds to leading residential developers who provide much-needed housing.
As of December 31, 2020, Grosvenor Americas had assets under management of USD $3.6bn.
We are part of Grosvenor Group, one of the world’s largest privately-owned international property companies and active in Britain & Ireland, Europe, Asia Pacific and North America. With $15.2bn of assets under management and a track record of 344 years, Grosvenor develops, manages and invests with a purpose of improving property and places to deliver lasting commercial and social benefit.
