Why did a Chicago investment firm go public with its Riverfront Y offer, you might ask
KENT DARR Feb 10, 2016 | 9:38 pm
2 min read time
444 wordsBusiness Record Insider, Real Estate and DevelopmentCA Ventures definitely had a message to deliver when it sent an email to the Business Record about a competing offer it has made for the Riverfront YMCA.
Hubbell Realty Co. has the property locked down and under contract through the end of September as it works on a development plan for a high-rise at 101 Locust St.
JJ Smith, chief operating officer for the investment and development firm, responded to a series of questions in an email exchange. Although CA Ventures understands it has little legal standing to compete with the Hubbell offer — exclusivity clauses typically block a seller from considering other offers while a live one is on the table — it did have an incentive get its offer, made to Jim Noyce, interim executive director of the YMCA of Greater Des Moines, and CBRE|Hubbell Commercial, which is marketing the site, before the public.
“Our ‘backup’ offer will hopefully make sure they don’t get another extension if they don’t move forward this time,” Smith said. “It will also let the city know they may not need to give away a lot of incentives to Hubbell to see development.”
CA Ventures is no stranger to CBRE|Hubbell Commercial Brokers and investment experts Tim Sharpe and Linda Gibbs sold the firm, then known as Campus Acquisitions, a $54 million student housing portfolio in Ames several years ago.
Smith said the firm, which started out in the student housing market before venturing into other segments of commercial real estate, owned and managed more than 1,000 units in Ames from 2006 to 2012.
CA Ventures also is a partner with Principal Real Estate Investors in a $175 million package of student housing in Seattle, Knoxville, Tenn., Eugene, Ore., Santa Barbara, Calif., College Park, Md., and Bloomington, Ill.
Smith said the company, operating under its CA Senior Lifestyles banner, is in the early state of developing senior living facilities in West Des Moines and Ankeny.
Last year, the Iowa City Council picked CA Ventures as the preferred developer on a $100 million, 18-story high-rise that will include a Hyatt Place Hotel and apartments. Work on that project should begin in the next 60 days.
Since branching out from student housing, CA Ventures has been involved with office and retail projects, hotels, multifamily and senior living, including assisted and memory care.
According to its marketing materials, CA Ventures’ portfolio breaks down like this: Student housing, $3 billion; office, $2 billion; multifamily, $620 million; senior housing, $400 million; and international, $350 million.
Smith said the company had been eyeballing the Riverfront Y site since April 2014 but felt stymied in its efforts after Hubbell put the property under contract.
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