Towson-based real estate investment and management firm Continental Realty Corp. raised $240M to invest in open-air retail properties nationwide.
The company announced Monday it closed its Continental Realty Opportunistic Retail Fund I LP. The firm said it raised $200M via the equity fund and $40M through two co-investment vehicles.
“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,” Continental Realty Corp. CEO J.M. Schapiro said in a statement.
The company has acquired nine retail properties totaling nearly 1.9M SF since launching the Continental Realty Opportunistic Retail Fund in 2021. The fund is already 33% invested.
CRC Chief Operating Officer David Donato told Bisnow in October the firm viewed "choppiness" in the national economy as an opportunity to find deals, particularly suburban assets with substantial parking.
"While some people are panicking about quote-unquote retail, we feel like they're running away from some of the wrong things,” Donato said. “We are finding that we're getting really good buys on really steady stuff. These outdoor strips have performed very, very, very well.”
The latest fund closure comes after Continental Realty Corp., in partnership with Brown Advisory, raised nearly $150M in private equity through its Core Multifamily Fund late last summer. That fund's targets include Class-A garden and mid-rise apartment assets with high-end amenities delivered within the past four years in urban and suburban markets.
“Given our deep understanding of the Southeast markets and current market conditions, especially the job and population growth in the Southeast, our vertically integrated team believes this is the optimal time to invest in a core multifamily strategy for long-term holds," Schapiro said in September.
Continental Realty Corp. owns and manages a portfolio of more than 9,000 apartments, plus retail centers and other commercial assets totaling more than 7M SF of commercial space in 10 states.
