Adams will begin working for Jamestown in mid-May. He previously served as director of acquisitions covering the US and Canada at WestWind Capital Partners. While at WestWind, he completed $1.4 billion of acquisitions and dispositions.

Matt Bronfman, Jamestown managing director, tells GlobeSt.com that the new fund reflects a shift in investment strategy for the company. Rather than focusing on the acquisition of core assets, which the company has done over the past five to six years, the company will seek opportunistic investments. It will seek investments of any property type across the country, but will focus on the Southeast. The objective of the fund is investments that will yield mid- to high-teens returns. The fund has already completed three transactions, but is considering other investments. "Right now we think core assets are at a high value. On a risk-adjusted basis, we believe that opportunistic investments provide a better opportunity."

"We thought Clay would be the best person to head up this effort," Bronfman says.

Rather than focusing on acquiring property in established cities, such as New York, Boston and Washington, DC, the company will focus on smaller, growing cities such as Charleston, SC and Raleigh-Durham, NC. "We focusing on the Southeast in cities with excellent demographics," Bronfman adds.

Consistent with this new strategy, Jamestown has recently sold some of its high-profile commercial properties in large cities. For example, the company sold 1290 Ave. of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan for $1.25 billion. Jamestown owned the building in a joint venture with Apollo Real Estate Advisors. The company also recently put 1211 Ave. of the Americas on the market for $590 million.

Adams earned an MBA at Emory University in Atlanta and bachelors of arts degree from Davidson College in North Carolina. He is affiliated with the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers and the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate.