JV Targets Distressed Opportunities

A recently formed joint venture between fund operator TriGate Capital and developer Campanelli Cos. is ramping up its buying activity in anticipation of an increase in high-yield opportunities.

Less than three months after announcing its debut deaL the partnership is on track to finish out the year with roughly $40 million of acquisitions. And it has the capacity to close more than $100 million of deals next year, with TriGate supplying most of the equity and Campanelli handling property upgrades and management.

The joint venture was set up to target opportunistic investments, mainly among office and industrial properties in suburban Boston. TriGate, of Dallas, and Campanelli, of Braintree, Mass., expect the supply of distressed opportunities to pick up next year. Stephen Murphy, a Campanelli principal in charge of acquisitions, oversees the joint venture’s buying platform.

TriGate was founded in 2007 by three real estate veterans: former Morgan Stanley Real Estate executive Jay Henry; Jon Pettee, who previously ran a joint venture operated by Fortress Investment and Goldman Sachs; and former ORIX Capital Markets president Jeff Yarckin.

Founded in 1947, Campanelli has a 3.6 million-square-foot portfolio of mostly office and industrial properties. The firm handles development, management and leasing in-house.