Shamrock Capital Closes $104M Genesis Fund

BURBANK, CA-Shamrock Capital Advisors has closed its $104 million Genesis Real Estate Fund II, which will provide gap financing to developers in the form of equity, preferred equity or mezzanine debt on projects ranging in size from $10 million to $80 million. The new fund will extend the reach of the Genesis fund beyond Los Angeles County to include Kern, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Orange, San Diego and Imperial Counties.The new venture follows Shamrock's initial Genesis Fund, which was launched in 2000 to stimulate economic development in low and moderate income communities throughout Los Angeles County. The first fund facilitated more than $250 million in retail, industrial, mixed-use and creative office development and was responsible for the creation or retention of an estimated 5,000 jobs according to Shamrock Capital, which is an affiliate of the Roy E. Disney family's Shamrock Holdings.Investors in Genesis Real Estate Fund II include major banks and insurance companies, along with a significant co-investment by Shamrock affiliates. In addition to providing capital, the new fund also will provide its development partners with assistance in deal origination, financial structuring, feasibility studies, project streamlining and relationship consulting.The projects financed by the first Genesis fund include the redevelopment of the one-million-sf SouthBay Pavilion regional mall in Carson and the redevelopment of 50 acres of former Northrop Grumman aerospace facilities in Hawthorne. The Carson project is a development of Newport Beach-based Hopkins Real Estate Group and the Hawthorne project, called the Exchange, is a development of Los Angeles-based Lowe Enterprises.The projects funded by the first Genesis fund have demonstrated that such funds can produce profits while also achieving community improvement goals, according to Mark Shaffer, Shamrock managing director. Schaffer says that as a result of Genesis and other funds that are focusing on those twin goals, "Real estate investment capital is finding its way to underserved communities across the country.