Taconic Investment Partners (Taconic), a fully integrated owner, operator and developer of commercial and residential real estate, announces today their new Quality Communities partnership with Clarion Partners, LLC (Clarion), a leading real estate investment manager. Taconic has hired Ty Barnes as the Vice President of Acquisitions to lead the venture, which will work to acquire and renovate rent stabilized and affordable housing buildings throughout the five boroughs of New York City.

With that, Taconic and Clarion have closed on their first investment under Quality Communities – the acquisition of a five-property portfolio in Bronx from Related Companies and the New York City pension funds for $71 million. Located in Fordham, Belmont and Concourse neighborhoods, the properties consist of 368 rent-stabilized apartments. The partnership plans to invest up to $400 million in this venture.

Taconic has a record of successfully acquiring, redeveloping and repositioning multi-family, office, mixed-use and retail assets. An example includes Taconic and Clarion’s acquisition in 2007 of Eastchester Heights, an apartment community located on five city blocks in the Bronx, NYC. Recognizing the opportunity to create additional value, Taconic’s in-house asset management team completed capital improvements to provide environment efficiency and sustainability, security, upgrades to landscaping, building common areas, while remedying hundreds of building code violations. Today, Eastchester Heights is widely regarded as the prime community in its neighborhood.

“We’re very optimistic about this new venture with Clarion, as it’s an area that should produce positive outcomes and improve the quality of affordable housing developments,” said Charles Bendit, Co-CEO of Taconic. “We strive to acquire properties that when improved, can impact an entire neighborhood the way that Eastchester Heights has. Ty brings a great depth of experience to Taconic; offering a tremendous opportunity for us to identify these types of projects, enhance value and transform them for the community.”

Prior to joining Taconic, Barnes worked as an Acquisitions Senior Manager at Related Companies, in which he was part of the acquisitions and development teams that purchased more than 2,000 luxury development units in NYC and 16,000 units nationally. And prior to that, Barnes held senior portfolio and asset management positions with Winn Residential and Manhattan Maintenance Company, respectively. Barnes earned a BA in History from Colgate University and his Masters in Real Estate Finance and Investment from NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate.

“What attracted me to Taconic is their strategic and long-term thinking – I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work with Clarion on our Quality Communities initiative,” said Barnes. “This venture will vastly improve the quality and supply of affordable housing in the city, and I believe my experience with local affordable and rent stabilized assets will help us hit the ground running.”

About Taconic Investment Partners

Since 1997, Taconic Investment Partners has acquired, redeveloped and repositioned over 12 million square feet of commercial office and mixed-use space, as well as 3,000+ units of luxury and workforce housing in the New York metropolitan area, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. As a fully integrated real estate operating company with a keen eye for uncovering value, its diverse capabilities are evidenced by its multifaceted success with luxury properties, as well as adaptive reuse and urban revitalization projects. In New York City, Taconic’s latest developments include the Meatpacking District’s desired office and retail location, 837 Washington, The Sterling Mason in TriBeCa, Essex Crossing on the Lower East Side, 525 West 52nd Street and 619 West 54th Street in Hell’s Kitchen and has assembled significant land holdings in Coney Island for residential development. The firm also manages various real estate funds on behalf of institutional and pension fund investors. For more information visit: www.taconicinvestments.com.

About Clarion Partners, LLC

Clarion Partners, an SEC registered investment adviser with FCA-authorized and FINRA member affiliates, has been a leading U.S. real estate investment manager for more than 35 years. Headquartered in New York, the firm has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, São Paulo, Seattle and Washington, DC. With more than $43 billion in total assets under management, Clarion Partners offers a broad range of real estate strategies across the risk/return spectrum to more than 300 domestic and international institutional investors. More information about the firm is available at www.clarionpartners.com.