Clarion Partners makes firm acquisition 

The Clarion Partners Real Estate Income Fund (CPREIF) has closed on its first investment, an $18 million structured debt investment to Buckingham Companies for the recapitalization of Aertson Midtown, a newly constructed, best-in-class property in the heart of Nashville’s Midtown/West End neighborhood.

Aertson Midtown features 350 class A apartment units, more than 31,000 square feet of retail space and a 180-room luxury hotel — the first in Nashville under the Kimpton flag.

Buckingham Cos., based in Indianapolis, owns or manages a portfolio of nearly $2 billion of real estate for its own account, third-party owners and institutional partners, and specializes in the development, acquisition, renovation and asset management of a wide range of properties.

“We’re pleased to invest in one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic cities in the United States. The property’s location near Vanderbilt University, four major hospitals and multiple office towers makes it a very strategic site for this kind of mixed-use development,” said Onay Payne, managing director of Clarion Partners.

CPREIF is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that continuously offers its common stock. The fund is managed by Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor (LMPFA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason, and is sub-advised by Clarion Partners, an affiliate of LMPFA. Western Asset, an affiliate of LMPFA and Clarion Partners, is the fund’s securities sub-adviser. Hard copies of the fund’s complete audited financial statements are available free of charge upon request.