Investment Group Closes on 134-Unit Project

SOUTH KINGSTON, RI- The Tuckerman Group, the real estate investment unit of Boston, MA-based State Street Global Advisors, in a partnership with LeCesse Development Corp., closed on an equity investment in GrandeVille at the Commons Apartments, a 134-unit multi-family development project.

Glen Weisberg, spokesperson for the Purchase, NY-based Tuckerman Group, tells GlobeSt.com that the project’s total capital cost is $19 million with the firm’s equity investment in the project set at $3.1 million. GrandeVille is the second transaction for the Tuckerman Group’s Multi-Family Development Program III, a specialized investment program focused on the ground-up development and eventual sale of “high-quality” multifamily properties.

Upon completion, GrandeVille will be part of the Village at South County Commons, a planned development that will include a mix of residential, commercial, and retail uses. The project is located approximately 30 miles south of the central business district of Providence, RI. The property will consist of seven three-story garden apartment buildings, six carriage homes, and a 4,700 sf clubhouse that will feature a fitness center, business center, and conference room.

Construction of the project is set to begin this month with the delivery of the first units for occupancy scheduled for this coming summer. SouthTrust Bank is providing the construction loan.

The Group’s Multi-Family Development Program III received capital commitments of $85 million from institutional investors as well as high net-worth investors. In a statement, the firm says the program will employ leverage of up to 80%, generating approximately $400 million of real estate acquisitions. The Tuckerman Group’s first Multi-Family Development Program was established in 1997 and was completed in March 2000. It financed the construction of five luxury apartment complexes throughout the country, representing in excess of $108 million in total asset capitalization. That program provided a rate of return to its investors of 26.7%. The second program closed in May 2000 and raised $46 million of capital, which was invested in eight separate apartment communities with a total of 2,272 units and capitalization exceeding $200 million.

The Tuckerman Group is part of State Street Global Alliance LLC; a jointly owned subsidiary of State Street Global Advisors and ABP, one of the world’s top three largest pension funds. It currently manages over $880 million in real estate assets.