The New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, entered into a joint venture with Hines, a Houston-based real estate firm, to invest in more than $1 billion in office projects, confirmed Doug Donovan, a vice president at Hines.
In an interview Monday, Mr. Donovan said the joint venture, called Hines Corporate Properties II, will be capitalized with $500 million in equity and will borrow another $500 million. Mr. Donovan, who is managing the joint venture, declined to provide details, saying only that the pension fund will provide “the bulk” of equity.
Eric Sumberg, a spokesman for New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the sole trustee of the $146.5 billion New York pension fund, referred all questions to Hines.
The joint venture “will develop, acquire, own and manage buildings primarily occupied by single-tenant users,” a Hines news release said.
“We believe the timing is right to reconstitute this venture and strategy to pursue development opportunities driven by major tenants,” Jeff Hines, president at CEO of the Houston firm, said in the news release.
He was referring to a similar venture with the pension fund called Hines Corporate Properties I, which built six office projects and acquired three single-tenant buildings from 1997 through 2004, according to the release.
