Western National holds $200m first close for multi-family fund

The multi-family investor has held an initial close on its second multifamily investment vehicle on four times the amount raised for its first fund.

Western National Property Management, the multifamily management arm of California-based Western National Group, has held an initial close on its Western National Realty Fund II (Fund II), the firm’s second private equity fund, with more than $200 million (€132 million) in equity commitments, according to a press report. Investors in the fund include pension funds, life insurance companies, investment banks and high-net-worth investors.

Fund II will focus on acquisitions and development projects in the multifamily residential sector. The vehicle has already acquired a site for ground-up development in the Warner Center-area of Woodland Hills, California. The development will include a four-story, 195-unit apartment complex wrapped around a five-and-a-half-story parking structure.

Western National chief executive Michael Hayde said in the report he expects Fund II to have a final close in 2008 with at least $300 million of equity commitments. Its first fund closed in 2005 on $50 million.

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