NORTH AMERICA - Iron Point Partners has closed on its Iron Point Real Estate Partners II commingled fund with $300m (€232m) raised above its original target.

The real estate manager attracted $750m of capital to Real Estate Partners II. 
When it started the capital-raising process, the fund was looking to raise $450m.

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas was one of the lead investors in the new fund, having approved a $100m commitment in June. 

The other investors included a combination of endowments, foundations, pension funds and high net worth family offices.

Iron Point used New York City-based Atlantic-Pacific Capital as placement agent. 

The company said it aimed to invest in a number of different strategies with the fund, including specialty property types such as data centres, senior living facilities and low-income apartment complexes. 

It will also invest in distressed or other special situation opportunities. 
All of the deals will be located in the US.

Iron Point was formed in 2007. Since then, it has raised a total of $1.3bn for its two private equity real estate funds. 

As with the second fund, Iron Point had Texas Teachers as a lead investor in its first fund, with a $100m contribution.

In other news, Washington State Investment Board has approved a new $500m allocation to the Evergreen Real Estate Partners venture.

The partnership makes entity-level investments in private real estate operating companies in the US. 

For the most part, the firms in which Evergreen invests own very traditional real estate, including office, industrial, retail and apartments. 

Washington State began the investment partnership with Evergreen in 2004. 

Since then, it invested a total of $2.5bn in the partnership before the most recent commitment. 

The investments represent more than 14% of the fund's overall real estate portfolio through the end of March.

Washington State has a real estate portfolio valued at $8.5bn through the end of June and a targeted allocation for the asset class of 13%.