NEW YORK CITY-Vornado Realty Trust said late Thursday afternoon that it has closed its Vornado Capital Partners investment fund at $800 million, with $250 million in additional commitments since the fund’s first closing. The REIT is serving as the general partner and investment manager.

In July 2010, Vornado announced the first closing on the fund with initial equity commitments of $550 million, including the $200 million that the REIT had contributed. At that time, the REIT said it expected total commitments of $1 billion for the fund, which reportedly will target IRRs of up to 20% on high-quality office properties in key markets.

The Wall Street Journal first reported in the summer of 2009 that Vornado was planning to launch a private equity fund with a focus on distressed properties, particularly in areas where the company already has a presence, including New York City and Washington, DC. Vornado says the Vornado Capital Partners fund will be its exclusive investment vehicle for all real estate and real estate-related investments that fit within the fund’s investment parameters for its three-year investment period.

Earlier this month, Vornado completed a $425-million refinancing of 2 Penn Plaza, its 1.6-million-square-foot office tower at 400 Seventh Ave. The seven-year loan bears interest at Libor plus 2.00% and was swapped for the term of the loan to a fixed rate of 5.13%. It followed a $150-million financing for Vornado’s previously unencumbered 2121 Crystal Dr., a 506,000-square-foot office property in Arlington, VA.