News
Hangin' With Mr. Cooper
August 10, 2011
| One is the loneliest number and two can be as bad as one. Ten? Now you’re talking. With its 10th investment fund getting under way,Shorenstein Properties is ramping up its acquisition activities and recently added SVP Russ Cooper to its capital transactions group. |
 |
| Yesterday we spoke with Russ, who works as part of a team to source, evaluate, negotiate, and close capital transactions in the Western US. (Heck, maybe they’ll even pick up your dry-cleaning.) He was brought on board by managing director Andrew Friedman to help cover the West Coast, and one of their focuses is Shorenstein Realty Investors Ten LP. Russ tells us the new fund has more than $1.2B (including $75M committed by Shorenstein) of “freshly raised” capital. They haven’t acquired anything yet, but they’re looking—like the previous funds, this one focuses on office properties in major US markets. “We’re a little bit more of a value-add oriented shop.” Within Shorenstein, there’s a large operating group that manages and leases properties. “A good acquisition for us enables us to utilize that in-house operating expertise.” |
 |
| For example, as the final investment for fund nine, the company closed a few weeks ago (in a JV with Santa Monica-based Worthe Real Estate Group) on this 20-acre development site at 13031 Jefferson Blvd in LA’s Playa Vista area. Russ tells us it’s a redevelopment play—the property, a former post office, will be converted into creative office space. (It’s entitled for up to 380k SF.) Russ came to Shorenstein from Eastdil Secured, but before that he was an investment manager with Hines and decided to get back into doing deals on the principal side. The avid sailor spends a lot of his free time on the water on his 37-foot C&C sailboat. Also, wedding bells are ringing (sure beats the Jaws theme)—he’s getting married this fall and is focused on plans for the ceremony. So don’t laugh if you catch him reading Today’s Groom. |
