The venture teamed with Gravity Asset Management to buy Songdo CoStay in Incheon (Image: InnoValue)
Tishman Speyer has secured $75 million from a German pension investor for its Korea Living Venture, bringing total equity commitments to $395 million as the US developer nears its $400 million fundraising target.
The Manhattan-based builder and fund manager announced the second closing on Monday, adding the German commitment to $300 million previously pledged by Dutch pension investors APG Asset Management and Bouwinvest and $20 million in sponsor equity. The company did not identify the German investor.
Tishman Speyer said the $395 million total effectively meets its initial target and expects the commitments to support more than $800 million in investment capacity, including anticipated financing. KLV reached its first closing in June.
“This second closing of our KLV fund reflects continued investor conviction in Korea’s living sector,” said Graham Mackie, Tishman Speyer’s head of pan-Asia. “These partnerships position us well as we continue to scale a high-quality, diversified residential portfolio across the Seoul Metropolitan Area.”
European Firepower
The German commitment expands a venture launched with Dutch pension backing, adding another European institution to a strategy targeting rental housing in and around Seoul. APG and Bouwinvest committed $300 million at the first closing announced on 4 June, with their individual allocations undisclosed.
Graham Mackie, Tishman Speyer’s head of pan-Asia (Image: Tishman Speyer)
APG invests on behalf of Dutch pension fund ABP and has positioned Korea’s rental housing market as fitting its strategy for developed Asian markets. The manager points to demographic change and demand for professionally managed homes as supporting long-term investment opportunities.
Bouwinvest has built a global residential portfolio for its pension clients. KLV marks Tishman Speyer’s first dedicated South Korean real estate strategy.
Tishman Speyer links Seoul’s rental demand to higher housing costs, growth in single-person households and an expanding population of foreign residents and international students. Those shifts underpin the venture’s focus on accommodation near business districts, universities and major transport connections.
“Korea’s rental housing market has historically been relatively fragmented and less institutionalised than some other major markets in the region,” Judy Jang, Newmark Korea’s research head, told Mingtiandi in August.
KLV aims to assemble a diversified portfolio by buying existing living assets with scope for improvement and taking selective exposure to development. Tishman Speyer says the approach balances near-term stability with long-term growth.
Incheon Foothold
KLV began deploying capital in August with the purchase of Songdo CoStay, a stabilised 411-unit property at 271 Harmony-ro in Incheon. The nine-storey complex offers furnished accommodation in Songdo International Business District, providing the venture’s first operating asset.
Songdo’s university and biotechnology cluster is home to about 70 biotech and life sciences companies employing more than 13,000 professionals, according to Tishman Speyer’s August announcement. CoStay’s common facilities include lounges, shared kitchens, a gym, laundry rooms and parking.
No purchase price or seller was disclosed for the Songdo acquisition. The venture partnered with Seoul-based Gravity Asset Management on the deal, market sources told Mingtiandi in August.
Tishman Speyer opened its Seoul office in 2022, following a relationship with Korea’s National Pension Service dating to 2011. The firm and NPS established a $1.5 billion separately managed account for US real estate investments in 2021, before the developer launched its dedicated Korean housing strategy.
The Korea venture forms part of Tishman Speyer’s broader expansion into residential property. Since 2023, the firm has acquired roughly 3,800 units across 13 communities in three countries and started or completed construction of about 4,100 rental apartments. Its current residential development pipeline comprises 7,400 units, according to Monday’s announcement.
