Called Continental Opportunity Fund I, the program is looking specifically for a range of distressed office, commercial and residential assets located in major markets around the US, according to Zurheide. While all of the geographic options are being kept open, the emphasis for Continental Opportunity Fund I will be on real estate assets in the Northwest, Southeast, Southwest and California regions of the country.

"We're looking forward to leveraging our extensive network of contacts, together with the rest of the brokerage community, in identifying suitable investment candidates," Zurheide says. For its part, the 45-year-old Continental Properties has built more than 40,000 housing units and also has substantial office and commercial real estate holdings in the US.

"We expect this fund's lifespan to range from four to six years, so this is definitely not a short-term program," he continues. "It's a program in which we intend to reposition and stabilize the acquired assets. We have full-service property management and build-out capabilities, and we will eventually seek to remarket many of the assets that we acquire."

Among the properties that the fund will take a look at are garden apartments, mid- or high-rise rental residential buildings that have been either renovated or built in the past 20 years, along with class A and B office product. Retail centers and industrial facilities are also on the wish list, and "because of our background in development and redevelopment, as well as our experience in acquiring entitlements, raw land will be considered as well," according to Zurheide