Penzance closes $255m real estate equity fund

Penzance has closed on its first real estate private equity fund. Generating a total equity commitment of $255m, Penzance DC Real Estate Fund LP is made up of institutional investors, including endowments, foundations and family offices. The fund will target value-add investments in residential and commercial properties and mixed-use development throughout the Washington, DC, metropolitan region. The fund can invest directly or as a general partner in joint ventures with other institutional partners. No placement agent was used in the fund’s launch.

The fund has already closed on two investments totaling nearly 20 percent of fund equity. The first, 1680 Wisconsin Avenue, is a three-story, fully leased 17,398 sq ft office building situated in the Georgetown submarket. The second asset is The Highlands. The project is a public/private project that will feature three high-rise towers totaling 1.2 million sq ft that will include 780 rental units, 104 condominium units and 40,000 sq ft of retail.

“We are honored to partner with such distinguished investors and are grateful for their confidence in our team,” said Julia Springer, Penzance’s co-founder. “We intend to continue investing with many of our long-standing partners, to whom we owe so much of our success, by utilizing the fund's ability to make general partner investments. The fund builds on our performance over 22 years of adding value through local expertise and intensive operations in the Washington, DC, region.”