According to Lend Lease principal Ray D'Ardenne, the venture is capitalized by two unnamed institutional clients, "one offshore and one domestic." Lend Lease is also a co-investor in the fund, though D'Ardenne would not disclose the amount of cash the firm has committed. The partnership expects to hold properties for roughly four to five years, depending on the nation's rate of economic recovery.

D'Ardenne says the fund's buy-low, sell-high strategy has proven a winner for the firm time and again. "It's pretty simple," he tells GlobeSt.com. "You buy into weakness and sell into strength. We buy in out-of-favor markets where there's a little bit of vacancy or some near-term rollover." He states that the fund will not be looking at properties in Midtown Manhattan or other top-tier locales. "We really want to focus on the Miamis and the Atlantas."

While the fund "doesn't have any deals committed to today," it is "actively looking" at a potential acquisition in Boston and is seriously pursuing two San Diego properties, D'Ardenne says. Suburban Washington, DC, downtown and suburban Boston, Atlanta, southern Florida, Dallas' Turtle Creek area and Chicago are all target markets for Tactical Office Partners, he adds.

"Our strategy is to selectively invest in high-quality office properties and to exploit the current dislocation in the office market in order to achieve enhanced returns," notes Ray D'Ardenne and Don Miller, another Lend Lease principal.

Part of the Lend Lease Group, Lend Lease Real Estate Investments is a major global real estate investment manager and a prominent US real estate advisor to pension funds. The company has $35 billion in real estate and commercial mortgages under management for institutional and private clients in the US.

Instant Insights /

Lend Lease Fund Plans $450M in Office Buys

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