The Contra Costa County Employees Retirement Association (CCERA) is considering $125m (€111.5m) of new value-add real estate investments.

The scheme is weighing investments of $75m into the LaSalle Income & Growth Fund VII and $25m into Long Wharf Real Estate Partners V.

The commitments would be part of around $313m the pension fund could be investing in the sector.

LaSalle Investment Management is seeking to raise $750m for Fund VII.

CCERA stated in a board-meeting document that the final close was scheduled for late October.

The overall investment strategy for the fund is to acquire assets that can be made into core properties through capital upgrades, creative property repositioning and active leasing.

Most of the capital will be invested in US office, apartment, retail and industrial assets.

Fund VII will consider investing in projects that make up less than 20% of the fund and are limited to apartments and industrial properties.

The fund will aim for 14-16% gross IRRs.

LaSalle will be co-investing $15m, or 3% of the fund’s total commitments up to $22.5m.

It has invested $280m in two office buildings in San Diego and Walnut Creek, California.

Long Wharf Real Estate Partners is near the end of its planned $425m capital raise for Partners V.

The real estate manager is planning to co-invest $5m.

It will focus on buying office, industrial, retail and apartments, mostly in middle-market assets.

Long Wharf has already invested about 45% of the fund in closed transactions in Atlanta, Dallas, San Antonio, Chicago, Austin and King of Prussia, where it invested $160m of equity.

The fund is targeting 12-15% net IRRs.

Its strategies to improve assets include leasing up empty space, repositioning, and adding value as existing tenants have below-market rents come up for renewal.