CRG Launches Fund to Develop $1.5B in Industrial Properties

Chicago-based Clayco’s real estate investment and development company, CRG, has launched US Logistics Fund II (USLF II) to develop a projected $1.5 billion of new e-commerce and distribution facilities in key markets throughout the US over the next three years.

CRG has opened the fund to high-net-worth individuals, family offices, wealth management advisers and other accredited investors. The firm is also setting a target of 10% investment from diverse investors by targeting a pool of qualified investors that includes women and persons of color.

CRG President Shawn Clark said the firm is fully committed to creating an inclusive process to facilitate improved access for traditionally underrepresented groups.

“We are bullish on the growth of e-commerce logistics and excited to expand access to these types of investments through USLF II,” said Clark in a prepared statement. “We believe this fund is the first of its kind. It’s a natural step in our firm’s evolution and strengthens our position as the most vertically integrated development and building delivery firm in the country.”

Clayco, CRG’s integrated construction firm, is currently delivering more than $3.8 billion of new industrial projects across 21 states. It opened its first West Coast regional office in Los Angeles in May and opened its first Southwest regional office in Phoenix.

USLF II follows US Logistics Fund I (USLF I), which launched in 2018. CRG developed $421 million of logistics facilities with the fund, including six industrial assets under its proprietary industrial brand, The Cubes. In December 2020, CRG sold The Cubes at DuPont, a three-building industrial portfolio in the Seattle area, to Duke Realty for $221 million.

Others also are launching massive logistics funds. In late July, GLP Capital Partners of GCP closed what it says is the largest discretionary closed-end fund focused on North American logistics real estate ever raised.

At over $2.3 billion, GLP Capital Partners IV fund exceeded its parent’s $2 billion target.

The fund is capitalized by a diverse group of domestic and international institutional investors, including public and corporate pensions, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, asset management firms, endowments, and family offices.

It aims to invest in institutional-quality logistics assets located in infill and key distribution markets.