Torres leaves Hudson Realty for Ares

Precilla Torres, who served as a managing director at Hudson Realty Capital for three years, has left the firm to accept a senior post in the real estate capital markets group at alternative asset manager Ares Management. She will be based in the Los Angeles-based firm’s Chicago office and report to Vivian Gu, head of the commercial real estate capital markets team, which is part of the Ares Private Debt Group.

Torres’ hire further expands the private debt group, which added more than 40 investment professionals following Ares’ acquisition of Wrightwood Capital, a Chicago-based debt provider, last August. Within the Ares Private Debt Group, which focuses on middle-market lending, is the Ares Commercial Real Estate (ACRE) group, which is based in Chicago. The team is led by John Bartling, its CEO and global head of real estate at Ares, and former Wrightwood chief executive Bruce Cohen, now ACRE’s COO.

Since September 2009, Torres had worked at Hudson Realty, where she handled capital markets responsibilities, particularly the formation of strategic partnerships, as well as fundraising. Most recently, she helped raise capital for Hudson Realty Capital Fund V, which held a final close of $250 million in December.

Spencer Garfield, managing director at Hudson Realty, said the firm eventually plans to fill Torres’ position, but it is not actively seeking a replacement. Hudson currently is focused on deploying the capital in Fund V, which is about 75 percent invested to date. The fund targets middle-market debt transactions, particularly distressed debt purchases and bridge loan originations. Recent deals include a $2.5 million bridge loan secured by a 106,000-square-foot office building in Atlanta and a $6 million construction loan involving the renovation of a vacant industrial building in Brooklyn, New York.

Before joining Hudson Realty, Torres served as a managing director at NewOak Capital, where she founded the firm’s commercial real estate business. Before that, she worked at Citigroup in a number of senior positions, including leading a team that executed large loan-related transactions.  Prior to Citigroup, she served as a senior vice president at Lehman Brothers, where led the execution of more than $20 billion in transactions.