DALLAS-In meeting its first fund closing target, Velocis Fund LP has $36.5 million in capital commitments, $4.7 million of co-investment equity. Mix into that maximum leverage of 60%, and Velocis Fund is brimming with purchasing power of approximately $100 million, with more to come.

“The total goal is $150 million in equity, and we’ll accomplish that through three or four closings within this one fund,” comments W. Frederick Hamm, the fund’s co-founder and managing principal.  Hamm tells GlobeSt.com that the second closing is slated for Q1 2012 and because of the fund’s terms, other closings must take place within the next 16 months. When all is said and done, the fund’s goal will be to amass purchasing power in excess of $350 million.

The purpose of that money? Off-market deals involving quality assets but owners that might be in over their heads with maturing loans or capital needs, according to fund co-founder and principal Stephen M. Lipscomb. “Since a year ago, September, when we started raising money, we’ve seen close to a ten-fold increase in the number of opportunities,” Lipscomb tells GlobeSt.com.

One of those opportunities came to fruition last spring when it acquired the 97,552-square-foot Jefferson Building in Austin, TX for $13 million. The building’s occupancy is now 87%, with rental rates meeting or exceeding expectations.  Furthermore, additional assets are in the pipeline, with closing imminent. “We’re talking days, not weeks,” Hamm comments.

Lipscomb says the goal is to acquire between four and six deals a year, depending on the size and opportunity. The fund’s sweet spot is U.S. assets – office, medial and retail -- in supply constrained markets in the $10 million to $55 million range.  “This is a core-plus strategy,” Hamm says. “We’re only pursuing attractive cash-flowing real estate we think has good upside.”

In a market in which more owners than not have some kind of maturing debt or may be underwater with loans, Velocis Fund LP has a kind of right time-right place feel to it. Because the fund is relatively new, it doesn’t have legacy issues that older funds might have. And because it’s seeking off-market deals, it’s not getting into bidding wars with multiple other potential buyers.

“We’ve had wonderful opportunities to pursue some interesting deals that haven’t hit the street, and that are right in our range,” Hamm comments. “This has been rewarding, because our strategy is working.”