Celestial Real Estate Fund I, LLC was formed in 1999 to acquire, own and operate a portfolio of office and retail properties in the New York Metropolitan area.  It raised $3.8 million in equity from 40 investors.  CREF I acquired interests in four office buildings and one shopping center representing nearly 400,000 square feet in Westchester (N.Y.) and Fairfield (Connecticut) counties.  The Fund is fully invested and generating distributable cash flow.  All properties have been refinanced and three have been sold.   The investors have received distributions approaching 200% of their original investment and retain substantial equity in the Fund’s two remaining properties.  The fully diluted effective annual internal rate of return to the Fund’s investors is projected to be approximately 18%, net after all fees and carried interest to CCGL and its affiliates.

Celestial Real Estate Fund II, LLC was formed in 2004 as a continuation and expansion of CCGL’s value-added investment program.  It raised $10 million in equity from 70 investors.  It acquired interests in four office buildings representing nearly 320,000 square feet in Westchester (N.Y.) and Fairfield (Connecticut) counties.  The Fund is fully invested.  Two of the Fund’s investments have been sold at a profit.  The other two investments are still in the value creation stage of their life cycle.  The target fully diluted effective annual internal rate of return to the Fund’s investors is 14%, net after all fees and carried interest to CCGL and its affiliates.

Celestial Real Estate Fund III, LLC was formed in 2007 to facilitate a tax-deferred reinvestment by certain members of CREF II upon the sale of that Fund’s Fairfield, Connecticut properties.  CREF III raised $4.35 million in equity from 47 investors.  In addition, an affiliated LLC which owned an interest in the Fairfield properties raised $1.62 million in equity from 11 investors.  Due to the unsettled state of the capital markets in early 2008, when both entities were required to designate potential replacement properties, CCGL elected not to complete a tax-deferred reinvestment, as CCGL could not secure a replacement property meeting its stringent acquisition criteria.  Thus, CREF III and the affiliated LLC distributed their cash in 2008.  Much of the distributed cash has been informally committed to CREF IV.

Celestial Real Estate Fund IV, LLC is now raising capital.  It will represent a continuation and further expansion of CCGL’s established value-added investment program.  CCGL believes the timing of the CREF IV is particularly advantageous, since periods of market turmoil such as the present frequently provide exceptional acquisition opportunities for valued-oriented buyers, such as CCGL. The CREF IV offering has a $7.5 million minimum and a $20 million maximum.  CREF IV will target a 14% effective annual internal rate of return to its investors, net after all fees and carried interest to CCGL and its affiliates.  CCGL has not yet selected an initial investment for CREF IV.