Cortland, Declaration Partners form preferred equity joint venture

Cortland has formed a programmatic joint venture with Declaration Partners Real Estate, a private investment firm anchored by David Rubenstein, to invest preferred equity capital in multifamily real estate assets.

The venture, which intends to focus on Cortland’s key markets, has initial capital of $100 million and is Cortland’s first foray into managing a dedicated fixed-income program.

“We believe this well-timed venture positions us to help satisfy the ongoing demand for so-called gap capital from owners who are coming up short on proceeds when refinancing debt on their multifamily properties,” said Jason Kern, Cortland president of investment management.

The joint venture is the next step in the evolution of the relationship between Cortland and DPRE, which has seen the two firms invest together in several multifamily assets over the past five years. The venture will seek to provide fixed-income principal investments of between $5 million and $35 mi