By Jon Peterson
The Washington State Investment Board (WSIB) is looking to allocate additional funds into the real estate sector with an investment strategy that covers a number of industry groups at the same time. The pension fund has agreed to a new $750 million allocation to Calzada Capital Partners, according to information provided by the pension fund. This brings the total investment the pension fund has allocated to this manager over the past nine months to $1.25 billion.
Calzada Capital Partners has declined to comment and the company prefers not to discuss its relationship with the pension fund. The Chicago-based real estate investment firm operates out of a regional office on the West Coast that is located at 345 California Street in San Francisco, according to the company’s website.
The overall investment strategy for Calzada is to provide growth capital for real estate operating companies on a global basis. The new commitment could be placed either with current companies with which the manager has a relationship or a relationship with a new REOC could be established to be part of the investment portfolio for the first time.
Several of the companies already part of the Calzada relationship have a large presence on the West Coast. One of these is the Seattle-based Washington Holdings. This company either acquires, develops or manages properties in the West region. Its favored property types are R&D, multifamily and hotel assets.
Chicago-based Hometown America is also part of the program with Calzada, and the organization focuses on the manufactured housing assets it owns and operates. The investments can be made into a broad mixture of properties targeting all age groups. This company already owns a number of West Coast assets in markets like San Jose, Sacramento, Anaheim and Chula Vista.
In the past, Calzada has also invested with Ladera Ranch, Calif.-based Pivotal Capital Group, a real estate debt manager. The company provides debt for the refinancing or re-development of residential housing projects in California.
There are also two investment firms that targeted retail assets that have been part of the Calzada partnership. One is Plaza Fiesta, a Denver-based firm that focuses on for Hispanic retail properties in both Northern and Southern California. The other is Newport Beach-based TRC, an owner of shopping centers in California.
Calzada represents a significant amount of the real estate portfolio of WSIB. The pension fund stated in an email that this relationship amounts to 20.7 percent of the total real estate portfolio held by the investor. WSIB has now committed a total of $5.6 billion of capital to the relationship.
