After tying up the property with an investor contingency, the Portland, Ore.-based firm raised $5.7 million in three and a half weeks from 21 investors, principally local, and financed the rest, says Wyse SVP Joseph Sandahl, who spoke with GlobeSt.com this week. "This is a whole new venture for Wyse," says Sandahl.

Wyse has invested $200 million in the past 10 years on behalf of individuals and pension funds. The firm also manages some 1.5 million sf for private individuals and originates loans on behalf of its pension fund clients, which include Les Schwab and Stoel Rives.

Sandahl says the decision to expand its real estate investment offerings to limited partnerships resulted from feedback and suggestions from clients and investors who, seeing the volatility in the stock market, expressed interest in owning high quality institutional real estate but didn't have the resources to do so individually or preferred to share the investment with others in order to diversify their investments.