The partnership between NRDC and Apollo has also hired Christina Johnson, the former chief executive of Saks Fifth Avenue, in the latest example of top retail talent making the jump to private equity.
Through its new opportunity fund, the Toronto-based real estate investment firm has purchased 5.3 million square feet of space from an affiliate of JP Morgan Chase.
The infusion will fund completion of Mills Corp’s troubled Xanadu entertainment and shopping complex, which is now expected to cost $2 billion, two-thirds higher than the original projection.