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CHICAGO-Harrison Street Real Estate Capital has obtained $75million in equity commitments for its first real estate fund,Harrison Street Real Estate Partners I, LP. With 16 institutionaland high-net worth investor groups already on board, the companyintends to accept additional investors through year's end.

Co-founder and managing director Christopher Merrill tellsGlobeSt.com that Harrison was formed to target specificopportunities with demonstrable levels of demand, including studenthousing, senior housing, medical office, self-storage and parkingassets. Created in partnership with Chris Galvin, former chairmanand CEO of Motorola and Michael Galvin, former US assistantsecretary of commerce for export administration, Merrill says thefirm looks for deals that typically fall through the cracks.