Spokane real estate broker Dave Black and three associates have formed a company here through which they are seeking to raise $20 million or more in a private-placement offering to invest in real estate over a wide geographical area.


The company is called Black Realty Fund 2004 LLC, and it is to be managed by a separate new company called Black Proinvest LLC, whose board includes Black, Mark Pinch, J. Grant Person, and G.N. Jerry Olson.


Black, Pinch, and Person are CEO, president, and vice president, respectively, of Tomlinson Black Commercial Inc., of Spokane. Olson, who has about 30 years experience in legal, business, banking, and commercial real estate, is president, CEO, and managing director of Black Proinvest.


Were just getting rolling (with the offering), but were about 20 percent of the way there, Black says. He adds that he expects the offering to continue through about the end of the year.


An executive summary for the offering lists its maximum amount at $20 million, but says the manager may increase that to $30 million. The minimum subscription amountwith the offering open to accredited investors onlyis $100,000, it says.


The summary says the company intends to use the funds to acquire commercial real estate throughout the northern and western U.S., with an emphasis on the Inland Northwest. Acquisition targets are likely to include retail, office, industrial, warehouse, and manufacturing properties, and also possibly residential and commercial subdivided land.


Black says Black Proinvest specifically will be evaluating properties ranging in price from $3 million to $15 million in smaller markets that have been overlooked. The executive summary says most of the properties acquired by Black Realty Fund are anticipated to be income-producing assets, and that the company intends to hold the investments for between seven and 10 years, subject to market conditions.