"The initial commitment is $250 million, but we all feelconfident that we will have the capacity and the capital to be asfar-reaching as we choose," Angelides tells GlobeSt.com. He saysthat the new venture will have "a fairly broad mandate," bothgeographically and in terms of the types of investments it willmake.

The venture will be looking at land in regions like the PacificNorthwest, California, the Southwest and the Southeast, focusing on"markets across the US where we see projected job growth andpopulation growth." It will acquire land directly, invest withexisting land owners and "possibly make investments in companiesthat own land," Angelides says.

The former state treasurer, who ran unsuccessfully forCalifornia governor last year, says that the new JV will be lookingat sites that can accommodate residential and a mix of other uses"in urban regions that are in the path of growth." The residentialcomponent will most likely include single-family and multifamilyuses, and the mixed-use will likely include retail and officecomponents.