Multifamily Development Company Formed With $320 Million
BEVERLY HILLS, CA -- (December 5, 2001) -- The formation of Casden Development LLC, a multifamily real estate development company with an initial capitalization of $320 million, was announced today by Alan I. Casden, chief executive officer. The new Company was spun out of the previously announced merger of Apartment Investment and Management Company (NYSE: AIV, Research, SEC Filings) (AIMCO) and Casden Properties Inc, a private multifamily real estate investment trust formed by Alan Casden in 1998.
The initial shareholders in the new Company are affiliates of Alan Casden, AIMCO and Blackacre Capital Management. Casden Properties Inc. has merged with AIMCO in a previously announced transaction valued at $1.95 billion. As part of the merger transaction, the entire development and construction management staff of Casden Properties Inc. has joined the new Company.
Casden Development will have an ongoing strategic alliance with AIMCO in which Casden will assume responsibility for all of AIMCO's current development projects in the Los Angeles area. AIMCO has also retained Casden to direct the market repositioning of certain AIMCO apartment communities. The AIMCO-Casden relationship will also serve as a platform for the development of future multifamily projects in Southern California, as AIMCO will have an option to purchase multifamily projects developed by Casden.
Casden Development is currently developing three large rental communities in the Park LaBrea area of Los Angeles, consisting of three separate developments of 250, 521 and 610 rental homes, for a total of 1381 rental homes. The aggregate value of the projects and the other premier development sites that the Company's has under current development exceeds $700 million. In addition, the Company has another 5,000 rental apartment homes valued at $1.8 billion in its development pipeline.
Alan Casden said: "The Company will develop both market rate and affordable housing in the Los Angeles area. Our development pipeline, which an independent research firm has estimated accounts for 65-70 percent of all new multifamily housing to be built in the area over the next five years, will be very positive for the local economy, both in terms of job creation and the relief of the critically acute local rental housing shortage. In addition to the apartment communities already under way, we will continue to seek new housing opportunities. We believe the combination of our experience, expertise and financial resources makes the Company uniquely positioned in the Los Angeles housing market. The Company's primary mission is to manufacture affordable rental housing in urban locations."
Since the early 1980's Alan Casden and his companies have developed or sponsored approximately 90,000 multifamily apartment units or interests therein, with an aggregate acquisition and development cost of approximately $7 billion.
Blackacre Capital Management is a New York-based investment fund with over $7 billion under management.