PGIM Real Estate could eventually double the size of its $500m (€432m) multifamily joint venture with CityView, the company’s Americas CIO has said.

Last week, IPE Real Assets reported that Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) had sold half of a $500m (€425m) multifamily portfolio managed by CityView to an institutional investor advised by PGIM Real Estate.

The real estate investment arm of Prudential Financial, which acquired the stake in five properties, has since told IPE Real Assets that it has established a long-term joint venture with CityView in conjunction with the deal.

Alfonso Munk, Americas CIO at PGIM Real Estate, said: “Our plan with the joint venture is to substantially increase the size of the relationship over time.”

He said PGIM is now looking at investing in additional projects managed by CityView, including properties in the East Bay region of San Francisco, Koreatown in Los Angeles and Seattle.

CityView currently manages 25 multifamily projects worth approximately $2bn.

“There are many features that we like about the properties that CityView has developed,” said Munk. “They are located in supply-constrained markets where it’s difficult to find sites and the permitting process can be very complicated.”

He added: “The location of their projects [are] very robust employment centres where many technology workers would like to live and where it’s difficult to buy a house.”