A joint venture led by Bain Capital Real Estate and 11North Partners has acquired a five-property portfolio of open-air retail centers across California, Virginia, Florida, and Texas in private transactions totaling approximately $300 million. The venture is focused on open-air formats and is targeting assets along the core-plus and value-add spectrum across the United States and Canada.
The newly acquired portfolio comprises about 757,000 square feet of retail space. The properties are located in Carlsbad, California, within the North County San Diego area; Falls Church, Virginia, in Fairfax County; Altamonte Springs, Florida, in the Orlando market; and Sugar Land, Texas, in the Houston area. While the article does not provide addresses or individual asset details, it notes that each property is an open-air center.
The centers are anchored by a mix of grocery, big-box, and fitness brands, including Harris Teeter, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Costco, and Equinox. According to the buyers, the portfolio is more than 93% leased on an in-place basis, underscoring persistent tenant demand for well-located open-air retail. The strong occupancy profile is presented as a key attribute of the acquisition.
Brian Harper, founder and managing partner of 11North, said open-air, grocery-anchored retail continues to offer attractive risk-adjusted performance relative to the broader real estate universe. He described the properties as high-quality, difficult-to-replicate assets in markets that are considered undersupplied, suggesting that replacement cost and limited new competition were factors in the investment thesis.
The acquisitions follow a sizable capital formation effort by the Bain Capital and 11North platform. The partners recently raised $1.6 billion for open-air retail investments through the co-owned 11North vehicle. With incremental participation from Bain Capital Real Estate Fund III, the platform now has access to more than $2 billion of investable equity for similar strategies.
Together, the latest portfolio purchase and the recently closed capital raise highlight the scale at which institutional investors are allocating to open-air and grocery-anchored retail. While no additional transaction specifics were disclosed, the buyers emphasize a focus on acquiring assets that they view as both resilient and competitively positioned within their respective trade areas.
