PREI Raises $280M for Mexican Program

Prudential Real Estate Investors, Parsippany, N.J., has reported raising $280 million from international investors for the second phase of its Mexico Residential Program, which invests in a land-purchasing program with a leading Mexican homebuilder.The additional investment will enable PREI and the homebuilder, Corporacion Geo S.A. de C.V., to expand a joint venture launched in 2003 to invest up to $1 billion in land on which Corporacion Geo would develop housing. Under the venture's first phase, which was fully invested at $175 million early this year, Geo is scheduled to develop more than 80,000 units in 42 projects that cover 25 cities in 14 states across Mexico, PREI reported. "The size of the second fund reflects investors' growing interest and confidence in the Mexican housing sector," said Roberto Ordorica, managing director and chief executive officer of PREI-Latin America. The company can be found online at http://www.prei.com.