CHICAGO – (Realty News Report)— Cresset Partners and Diversified Real Estate Capital has announced the formation of a partnership of their real estate groups, expanding Cresset’s real estate investment platform.
Cresset has partnered with Hines on a number of projects including the 46-story Brava residential tower under construction at 414 Milam in downtown Houston and another project in Dallas.
Looking at More Projects in Texas
“The existing projects we own with Hines, like Brava in Houston and The Victor in Dallas, will have an even stronger ownership group, with a firm commitment to long-term ownership of high-quality real estate,” said Michael Miller, Executive Managing Director of Cresset Real Estate Partners. We are expecting to continue investing in the high-growth markets of the Sun Belt, including Texas We are looking at projects in several major Texas cities now.”
The partnership formalizes and builds upon the existing relationship between Cresset and Diversified, which has successfully sourced, structured, capitalized, and executed on $1.6 billion in real estate projects since 2019. Together, Cresset and Diversified currently have 13 conservatively financed buildings under development nationally.
The combined entity, which is called Cresset Real Estate Partners, will target institutional-quality investment opportunities in a variety of asset types, including multifamily, office, industrial, and hospitality. It will source and execute on investments directly or work with top-tier operating partners to bring unique investments to clients.
Cresset and Diversified initially partnered in 2018, successfully launching the Cresset Diversified QOZ Fund I, a $465 million fund focused on real estate development in Qualified Opportunity Zones. Cresset Diversified QOZ Fund II launched in early 2020. Since 2018, the two firms have partnered on several successful real estate investments across multifamily, office, industrial, and hospitality developments.
Cresset Real Estate Partners will be led by Executive Managing Director Michael L. Miller, who has more than 35 years of experience in the real estate industry. Diversified Founder Larry Levy will continue to provide leadership and guidance in his role as Co-Founder, along with Cresset Co-Founders Avy Stein and Eric Becker. The Cresset Real Estate Partners team will have 20 experienced investment, acquisition, and asset management professionals, including Managing Directors Jeff Cherner and Nick Marietti, who will continue to focus on sourcing investment opportunities. Cresset Real Estate Partners will operate as a part of the broader Cresset team of 170 employees in 10 locations.
“Cresset and Diversified coming together is the natural evolution of a longstanding relationship between two like-minded firms. For Cresset to have a real estate investment capability of this magnitude is unique among wealth management firms,” Levy said. “Cresset has grown tremendously since its founding just a few years ago. I have complete confidence that together we have the talent, depth of resources and relationships, and shared vision to continue that growth trajectory.”
Diversified Real Estate Capital was founded in 2003 by Levy, Miller, and Cherner. Over the past 18 years, Diversified has invested in more than 5 million square feet of class A office space, and 3,500 residential units.
Hines/Cresset Projects Include:
The Finery – a multifamily and office development in Nashville.
Mica RiNo– a multifamily project in Denver.
The Mercantile– a multifamily development in Omaha.
In Houston, the Brava is a 373-unit multifamilytower under construction on the site of the old Houston Chronicle parking garage on half-block bounded by Milam, Preston and Prairie. The 431,953-SF tower, slated for completion in the third quarter of 2022, will be the tallest residential building in Houston. The Brava, designed by Munoz + Albin, will have 6,800 SF of street level retail/restaurant space. Brava (originally named The Preston) is in an Opportunity Zone, near the Theater District. Catty-cornered from the Brava site, Hines is constructing the 47-story Texas Tower office project on land where the Chronicle newsroom once existed.
Cresset Partners is the private investment arm of Cresset Capital and provides investors with direct access to investment opportunities in private companies, real estate, and sponsor products.
Levy and Becker have a relationship dating back more than 40 years. Today, Levy is an investor in Cresset and serves on the Cresset Advisory Board.
“This is formalizing and expanding the relationship that Cresset and Diversified had previously,” Miller told Realty News Report in an e-mail. “This will allow the platform to grow, combining the full fundraising capabilities of both organizations in order to create a series of additional funds focused on the development and ownership of high-quality real estate in major markets throughout the United States.”
May 10, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
For more about Texas real estate, check out the book Houston 2020: America’s Boom Town – An Extreme Close Up by Ralph Bivins. Available on Amazon http://tiny.cc/4a2g6y
File: Cresset, Diversified Form Partnership – More Texas Projects Eyed by Hines Partners
Rendering courtesy Hines. Architecture: Munoz + Albin
File: (2) Hines. Opportunity Zones. Cresset, Diversified Form Partnership