Chicago-based CA Ventures has announced an expansion of the firm’s global, multi-sector platform through the launch of CA Industrial, a new division that will pursue speculative development and acquisition opportunities throughout the U.S.
“Leveraging CA’s vertically integrated team and longstanding relationships within the commercial real estate industry, CA Industrial plans to invest $500 million in the logistics and distribution space over the next five years,” the company said in a news release.
CA Chief Development Officer Sean Spellman will lead the initiative with Jim McGill, a 24-year industrial real estate veteran who has joined the team as executive vice-president of CA Industrial, the news release reported.
“We go where the opportunities are, and with record-low vacancy in markets across the country, we believe the industrial sector has a lot of runway as capital continues to pour into the sector,” CA Ventures CEO Tom Scott said in the statement. “Using data-driven metrics to guide market, product and site selection, we will leverage organizational synergies from our other business lines, along with the expertise of both Sean and Jim, to expedite deal execution as we rapidly yet strategically grow the industrial portfolio.”
CA Industrial will initially focus on the central U.S., highlighting distribution networks that support regions of sustained employment and population growth.
“The industrial segment continues to outperform other asset classes and there is no slowdown in sight, particularly in the logistics hubs our firm is targeting with this initial $500 million investment,” said Spellman. “CA Industrial is already pursuing several opportunities that we hope to announce soon, and we’re fortunate to have partners – many of whom we’ve worked with in other sectors – who know CA and our ability to get deals done, regardless of property type or location.”
CA Ventures says it has rapidly ascended from a student housing-focused company to a global real estate investment conglomerate boasting the delivery of 30,000 student housing beds, 3,000 senior living units, 3,000 multifamily units, 500,000 square feet of retail within its mixed-use communities as well as the introduction of limited-service hotel offerings.
The firm has started a construction division and, in February 2018, the firm announced plans to expand its international business line in Europe, with an investment of $500 million to develop purpose-built student housing and multifamily residential communities.
