investing in transitional assets
ABOUT US
With backgrounds in real estate acquisitions, development, and finance, we came together in early 2021 to acquire and reposition transitional assets throughout the Southeast
Coming from Tishman Speyer and Morgan Stanley, we’ve collectively invested in over $9 billion of real estate across residential and commercial
We have owned and operated commercial & residential assets in the North Carolina Research Triangle, Charlotte, and Austin, including a 2 million square foot residential and life science development in downtown Durham and a residential portfolio in Austin
Blake Nucci
Blake was a former managing director & head of NY Metro acquisitions at Tishman Speyer, where he led the development and/or repositioning of $8 billion of real estate invested across commercial and residential properties. He currently lives in Raleigh, NC with his wife and two children
Charles Nucci
Charlie previously worked at Morgan Stanley on its Real Estate Investing team covering acquisitions for the group’s core and opportunistic funds. Prior to Morgan Stanley, he worked at Innovo Property Group, a NY-focused owner-operator. He currently splits his time between Brooklyn, NY and Raleigh, NC
OUR INVESTMENT TRACK RECORD
Led the development and/or repositioning of $9 billion of real estate invested across residential and commercial properties throughout the Northeast and Southeast
Featured Investment
Durham 10-acre
Development Site
Over a 12-month period, we renegotiated the existing long-term retail leases, zoned the property for a 2 million square foot mixed-use development site, and obtained entry into the North Carolina Brownfields Tax Credit Program
We recently sold the site in July 2022 to a Chicago-based life science and residential developer, achieving a 25x equity return on our initial $2 million equity investment
Acquired a 10-acre underperforming strip center in Durham, NC
We acquired a 10-acre retail strip center in Downtown Durham in August 2021. The site, known as Heritage Square, has the potential to be the largest urban development site in Raleigh-Durham
After acquiring the site, we worked to unencumber the site to allow for a large-scale mixed-use development
Land Repositioning & Predevelopment
Working with local and national third-party consultants, we created the site's development vision, produced a zoning-compliant massing study and ultimately a site plan design
We worked with city officials to determine the feasibility of our development vision, identifying ways to achieve added density through local building code & bonuses. The final product was a 2 million square foot mixed-use development site across life science and residential
Our Investments
Durham 10-acre covered land retail
Acquired a 10-acre underperforming retail strip center in downtown Durham, on which up to 2 million square feet of commercial and residential could be developed. Canvas entitled the land, pursued predevelopment, and sold the site in late 2022
Garner plaza retail center
Acquired a 60K square foot unanchored retail strip center in Garner, NC, five miles south of downtown Raleigh. The covered land retail asset was a high 7% cap rate in-place and will stabilize at a mid-9% return on cost.
Winston-Salem Industrial Property
Acquired a 58K square foot single-tenant industrial building in Winston-Salem, NC. Canvas acquired the property 100% leased at an 8% in-place cap rate.
News and Press
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Sterling Bay Buys Major Development in Downtown Durham
Development and investment firm Sterling Bay has picked up a major development in the fast-growing market in Durham, N.C., Commercial Observer has learned
A source familiar with the deal revealed the Chicago-based firm paid $63 million for the shovel-ready development on 9.6 acres in downtown Durham, which currently includes a Class C retail center
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Largest Urban Development Site in Raleigh-Durham Sold for $63M
JLL Capital Markets has arranged the $63M sale of a shovel-ready, 9.6-acre, mixed-use development site located in the heart of Durham, NC, one of the nation’s most robust growth markets
JLL marketed the property on behalf of the sellers, 606 Fayetteville LLC. The site, which is the largest urban development site in downtown Durham, was acquired by a prominent Chicago-based developer
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Chicago developer buys downtown Durham property for $62M
A property in downtown Durham has seen its value soar as a national real estate investor bets on the city
Known as Heritage Square, the 9.6-acre site along Fayetteville Street and East Lakewood Avenue just south of the Durham Freeway has been acquired by Chicago-based real estate developer Sterling Bay for more than $62 million, according to Durham County deed records
CONTACT US
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