Three REITS Launch Internet Company

Three bricks-and-mortar companies are going electronic with the launching of Realeum, Inc., an Internet company that is offering Web-based products for leasing, management and asset management in multi-family housing.

In the venture with Atlanta-based Post Properties, Inc. (NYSE:PPS) are AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) and United Dominion Realty Trust (NYSE:UDR).

Realeum, formerly Trillium Data Solutions, Inc., is an industry-sponsored company set up to help solve onsite operating problems and to provide software for property management and assets improvement for multi-family development and management companies.

Its flagship product, Jvelon, previously Project Javalon, will be pre-released to customers for pilot and beta testing in December, according to Realeum. The three founding firms collaborated on the development of the product and subscribe to Jvelon. Collectively, they represent more than 150,000 apartment homes.

The co-founders also put up the first round of funding of about $7 million for design, development and testing of Jvelon. In early September, they secured $15 million in series A funding from a syndicate of firms.

Those firms are Venrock Associates, Carlyle Venture Partners, Cohen & Steers through its Internet Realty Partners venture capital fund and Stichting Pensioenfund ABP through its U.S. affiliate ABP-US Investments, Inc.

Realeum plans to use the money for software engineering, platform deployment, customer service development and new business and product development.