Investcorp's U.S.- based real estate group recently announced that it has entered a joint venture with Schnitzer West to develop a 1.6 million square foot office, retail and residential project in Bellevue. The total value of the transaction exceeds $800 million.

The mixed-use development, known as The Bravern, is located on a prime, six-acre site in Bellevue's central business district. 750,000 square feet of office space, in two high-rise office towers, has already been fully leased by Microsoft on a long-term basis. A further 305,000 square feet of luxury retail space will be anchored by a 125,000 square foot flagship Neiman Marcus store. There will also be two 29-story residential towers with 456 luxury one-bedroom, two-bedroom and penthouse condominiums. Construction on The Bravern has been well underway for over a year, with individual building deliveries scheduled for mid-2008 and the fall of 2009.

Under the terms of the joint venture, Investcorp will provide a majority of the project equity. Schnitzer West will provide a substantial portion of the balance of the overall project equity and will serve as the project's day- to-day investment developer.

Brian Kelley, of Investcorp's Los Angeles office, said, "We are excited to have formed this joint venture with Schnitzer West. We look forward to arranging future transactions in the Western United States with this world- class operating partner." Herb Myers, who, alongside Mr. Kelley, represented Investcorp in the transaction, added, "The Bravern is an extremely compelling mixed-use development opportunity in a market characterized by high barriers to entry, above-average growth, extraordinary demographics and strong real estate fundamentals. This is a further addition to Investcorp's opportunistic investment portfolio, which today exceeds $2 billion in 11 separate projects around the country."

Greg MacDiarmid, of Schnitzer West's Bellevue office, said, "We are pleased to have the opportunity to co-invest with Investcorp since our previous sale of Civica Office Commons to Investcorp. We could not have found a superior alignment of objectives and talent than our partners with Investcorp." Tom Woodworth, of Schnitzer West's Bellevue office, said, "We also look forward to aligning with Investcorp's deep real estate investment experience to ensure The Bravern sets a regional and national standard for people focused, engaging mixed-use upscale shopping, fine dining, efficient workplace and luxury living experience."

Creative Retail Leasing, LLC and GVA Kidder Matthews will continue to lease the retail space for Investcorp and Schnitzer West at The Bravern. Construction financing is being provided by HSH Nordbank.