CRC has acquired almost $550 million worth of shopping centers in the last three years. The current CRC portfolio now includes over 1,100 tenants

BALTIMORE, MD (April 20, 2023) – Continental Realty Corporation (“CRC”), a Baltimore-based real estate investment and management company with $3.5 billion of AUM, has announced the final closing of its Continental Realty Opportunistic Retail Fund I, LP (CRORF), a close-ended fund.  Collectively, CRC raised $240 million in equity – $200 million in the Fund itself and $40 million in the two co-investment vehicles.  Since 2012, CRC has raised almost $1B in equity for retail and multifamily investments across five real estate funds and multiple associated co-investments. The CRORF closing follows last summer’s closing of Core Multifamily Fund, LP for which almost $150M million in private equity funds was raised.

CRC owns and manages a diversified portfolio of over 9,000 apartment homes, as well as retail centers and other commercial properties consisting of more than seven million square feet of commercial space across ten US states. CRORF was formed to create a vehicle to target and acquire a diversified portfolio of distressed, opportunistic, and value-add retail properties throughout the United States.

“This equity for the CRORF provides our team the ongoing capacity to acquire national shopping centers that satisfy our investment profile, and to continue executing our proven strategy to deliver strong risk-adjusted returns to our investor group,” explained JM Schapiro, CEO of CRC. “Having invested in shopping centers since 1979, we know that using our vertically integrated platform, along with our commitment to cutting-edge data sources, deep understanding of the retail industry and long-term relationships in the market will present an extraordinary opportunity in coming years to invest in quality retail real estate that will deliver strong returns.”

“We have demonstrated our ability to utilize market intelligence, data science and our vertically integrated team to successfully acquire strategically located real estate where we can add substantial value with the execution of innovative leasing and property management strategies,” stated Josh Dinstein, CRC’s Senior Vice President, Acquisitions.

“Our team believes that the open-air retail asset class remains underappreciated, and we intend to deploy capital into a favorable investment environment. The expected outlook for CRORF is extremely bright as we continue to tap into our proprietary sourcing channels to uncover compelling investment opportunities with mismatched risk-return profiles.”

Summary of CRORF acquisition activity
Since the inception of CRORF in 2021, CRC has acquired nine retail properties comprising nearly 1.9 million square feet of space. Six of the nine properties are grocery anchored and CRC has now entered the suburban Chicago, Illinois and Troy, Michigan trade areas. At this point, the Fund is already over one third invested.

Fund acquisitions include Banks Crossing, a 255,101 square foot regional shopping center in Fayetteville, Georgia; The Shoppes at Webb Gin, a 330,000 square foot lifestyle center in Greater Atlanta; a portfolio of five shopping centers comprising more than 900,000 square feet of space in Cicero, Mount Prospect, Naperville, and Palatine, Illinois; and Oakland Plaza and Oakland Square, shopping centers located in Troy, Michigan, and consisting of nearly 392,000 square feet of space.

CRORF targets neighborhood, grocery-anchored, lifestyle and power centers situated within the U.S.’s top 50 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA), as well as select secondary markets.

Opportunities persist as brick-and-mortal retail sales reach historic highs
“Some investors are inclined to exit shopping centers, even though there is a notably different risk profile between malls and strip centers,” CRC’s David Donato added. “Some of our best shopping center purchases occurred following the economic downtown in 2009, when investors weren’t buying shopping centers and similar dynamics were in play. Today, many would-be market participants are presently sidelined. With this fresh infusion of capital, we intend to aggressively pursue open-air retail properties that consistently deliver long-term value to our investors. Our nimble capital and experienced team will enable us to take advantage of existing conditions as a preferred counterparty with a strong track record and certainty of close.”

Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland and founded in 1960, Continental Realty Corporation is a full-service commercial real estate and investment company focused on acquiring and operating retail and multifamily properties. The privately held firm owns and manages a diversified portfolio of retail centers consisting of more than seven million square feet of commercial space and over 9,000 apartment homes across 10 states, with a portfolio value exceeding $3.5 billion. For additional information, visit www.crcrealty.com

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