CHICAGO – (Realty News Report)— Cresset Partners and Diversified Real Estate Capital have announced a strategic partnership between their real estate divisions, expanding Cresset’s real estate investment platform.
Cresset has worked with Hines on several developments, including the 46-story Brava residential tower now under construction at 414 Milam in downtown Houston, as well as a project in Dallas.
Expanding Activity in Texas
“The existing projects we own with Hines, like Brava in Houston and The Victor in Dallas, will benefit from an even stronger ownership group, with a firm commitment to long-term stewardship of high-quality real estate,” said Michael Miller, Executive Managing Director of Cresset Real Estate Partners. “We expect to continue investing in the high-growth Sun Belt markets, including Texas, and we are actively evaluating opportunities in several major Texas cities.”
This partnership formalizes and deepens the longstanding relationship between Cresset and Diversified, which together have sourced, structured, capitalized, and executed roughly $1.6 billion in real estate projects since 2019. Combined, the firms currently have 13 conservatively financed buildings underway across the country.
The combined platform, operating as Cresset Real Estate Partners, will pursue institutional-quality investment opportunities across multiple asset classes, including multifamily, office, industrial, and hospitality. The firm will source and execute investments directly and also partner with premier operating partners to deliver differentiated opportunities for investors.
Cresset and Diversified originally collaborated in 2018 to launch the Cresset Diversified QOZ Fund I, a $465 million vehicle focused on development in Qualified Opportunity Zones. Cresset Diversified QOZ Fund II followed in early 2020. Since 2018, the two firms have jointly completed a series of transactions across multifamily, office, industrial, and hospitality sectors.
Cresset Real Estate Partners will be led by Executive Managing Director Michael L. Miller, who brings more than 35 years in the real estate industry. Diversified Founder Larry Levy will remain engaged as Co-Founder, alongside Cresset Co-Founders Avy Stein and Eric Becker. The real estate team will include about 20 investment, acquisition, and asset management professionals, among them Managing Directors Jeff Cherner and Nick Marietti, who will continue to focus on deal sourcing. Cresset Real Estate Partners will operate within the broader Cresset organization, which includes roughly 170 employees across 10 offices.
“Cresset and Diversified coming together is the natural evolution of a longstanding relationship between two like-minded firms,” Levy said. “For Cresset to add a real estate investment capability of this scale is a distinctive advantage among wealth management firms. I am confident that together we have the talent, resources, relationships, and shared vision to sustain strong growth.”
Diversified Real Estate Capital, founded in 2003 by Levy, Miller, and Cherner, has invested in more than five million square feet of Class A office space and developed about 3,500 residential units over the past 18 years.
Selected Hines/Cresset Projects
The Finery – a mixed-use multifamily and office development in Nashville.
Mica RiNo – a multifamily development in Denver.
The Mercantile – a multifamily project in Omaha.
In Houston, the Brava is a 373-unit multifamily tower being built on the site of the former Houston Chronicle parking garage, on a half-block bounded by Milam, Preston, and Prairie. The 431,953-square-foot tower, scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2022, is expected to be the tallest residential building in Houston. Designed by Muñoz + Albin, the building will include approximately 6,800 square feet of street-level retail and restaurant space. The Brava sits in an Opportunity Zone near the Theater District. Diagonally across from the Brava site, Hines is developing the 47-story Texas Tower office project on the former location of the Chronicle newsroom.
Cresset Partners serves as the private investment arm of Cresset Capital, offering investors access to private company investments, real estate opportunities, and sponsor-led products.
Levy and Becker share a business relationship that spans more than 40 years. Levy is an investor in Cresset and serves on the Cresset Advisory Board.
“This partnership formalizes and expands the relationship that Cresset and Diversified have built,” Miller told Realty News Report in an email. “It enables the platform to scale by combining the fundraising capabilities of both organizations to create additional funds focused on the development and long-term ownership of high-quality real estate in major U.S. markets.”
May 10, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
For readers interested in Texas real estate: Houston 2020: America’s Boom Town – An Extreme Close Up by Ralph Bivins is recommended.
File: Cresset, Diversified Form Partnership – More Texas Projects Eyed by Hines Partners
Rendering courtesy Hines. Architecture: Muñoz + Albin
File: (2) Hines. Opportunity Zones. Cresset, Diversified Form Partnership