Marcus Investments LLC has expanded the size of the real estate fund it is currently raising to $80 million, the company disclosed in a recent SEC filing.
The Milwaukee-based Marcus family office previously planned to raise $60 million for Marcus RE Fund I LP, but investor interest was high, said Chris Nolte, president of Marcus Investments.
“We expanded the raise given the initial reactions of the marketplace around it,” Nolte said. “It’s a good idea. At the end of the day, I think these are very tax-efficient, income-generated assets and I think that’s what people are responding to.”
The fund would invest in Midwestern retail “power centers” with funds contributed by family offices, consultants, wealth managers and institutions. The fund is still expected to close on Oct. 1, Nolte said.
Marcus Investments’ real estate division, Berengaria Development, actively invests in power centers, having added 850,000 square feet worth $125 million to its portfolio over the past 20 months, including Grafton Commons.
Of Grafton Commons, the only local power center the firm owns, Nolte said: “We really like the community. We like the tenant mix that we have, and the changes are ongoing right now in that we’re managing the vacancy that was created by Best Buy leaving. We have not yet announced the new tenants.”
He declined to discuss the new tenants. Nolte said he is confident in Berengaria’s retail strategy.
“The noise says retail’s dying, but that’s actually not what’s happening at all,” Nolte said. “Is retail dying or are certain types of retail dying? Certain types of operations.”
