How to Find Unique Investment Opportunities

IRVINE, CA—CapRock Partners finds unique investment opportunities in CRE by relying heavily on brokers as well as engaging directly with owners early in the game, president and co-founder Jon Pharris tells GlobeSt.com. After the former director of acquisitions was recently named president of the firm, we spoke exclusively with Pharris about his new role, the biggest challenges to designing and deploying new commercial real estate funds for the company's investors and his goals for the company.

GlobeSt.com: What are your goals in your new role as present of the firm?

Pharris: We started the company and did our first deal in 2010, and I was one of the three co-founders of the company. At that time, our focus was on buying distressed properties, notes and things of that nature because that was big in 2010. Our company has changed to value-add and also to doing development. Right now, we have about $600 million of assets either completed or in our pipeline, we have 1 million square feet of construction in our pipeline for this year and will have just under 2 million square feet under construction next year. We will continue to grow the company in industrial, low-rise office and ground-up development.

GlobeSt.com: What are the biggest challenges to designing and deploying new commercial real estate funds for your firm's investors?

Pharris: The Southern California real estate market is extremely hot today, so finding appropriately priced land assets or buildings is challenging. There's a lot of tenant demand and investment appetite, but the purchase price and staying within underwriting is a challenge.

GlobeSt.com: What's your strategy to finding unique investment opportunities in commercial real estate?

Pharris: Over the last five or so years, 70% of our assets have been off market, and that's land for development or existing office or industrial acquisitions. We continue to rely heavily on brokers to bring us quality deals, but we also try to engage directly with owners prior to them marketing the project or land. What separates us is having a proactive acquisitions team that identifies assets that we want to own and approaches them first.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about your company?

Pharris: Our goal is to be one of the largest private owners and developers in Southern California. In about five years, we have a total development of $600 million square feet of industrial, and that's growing. That's a lot for a pretty short time frame.