Continental Realty Corporation (CRC), a Baltimore-based real estate investment and management company, has expanded into the Colorado retail market with its $25.5 million acquisition of Thornton Town Center, a 266,008-square-foot neighborhood shopping center located at 9223-1001 and 1005 Grant Street in Thornton.
The shopping center is anchored by entertainment and recreation tenants such as Malibu Jack’s, The Picklr, and Sky Zone Trampoline Park. The asset features an assortment of retailers and restaurants and was nearly 73 percent leased at the time of the transaction.
Brad Lyons of CBRE represented the seller, Citivest Commercial Investments. Since the start of 2021, CRC has acquired approximately $1 billion worth of retail real estate.
“Thornton Town Center is an institutional-quality asset and represents our ideal entry point into the greater Denver market, which is a Top 20 MSA (metropolitan statistical area) and has nearly three million residents,” said Josh Dinstein, CRC’s co-chief investment officer. “The center features multiple high-performing Internet-resistant anchor tenants and, with more than 70,000 square feet of available space, there is optionality to enhance the overall center. More than 20 percent of consumer visits are generated by The Home Depot and Walmart Supercenter, two highly recognizable retail brands which shadow anchor the center. The well-located center continues our long-term investment mission of acquiring irreplaceable assets in densely populated residential and robust retail corridors.”
Delivered in 1990 on a 24-acre site featuring roadside visibility from Interstate 25 and renovated earlier this year, Thornton Town Center features a complementary mix of national and local retailers and quick-serve dining options such as GNC, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Renegade Burrito, Sally Beauty, and Starbucks Coffee. CRC intends to pursue a property improvement strategy designed to enhance long-term value and strengthen the assets market position.
CRC’s interest in the property was fueled by the opportunity to add value by leasing the available space, to leverage the recent addition of an indoor theme park, and to take advantage of the traffic generated by the shadow anchor tenants. “Our vertically integrated in-house leasing team has initiated efforts to backfill the available space with new uses that complement the existing tenant mix and introduce compelling new concepts which create excitement and add value to the surrounding community,” said Kristina O’Keefe, senior vice president, commercial division. “We consistently demonstrate success with these re-tenanting activities based on our strong relationships in the retail industry and anticipate targeting best-in-class retailers, food and beverage operators, educational users, healthcare and medical facilities, entertainment-focused tenants, and family-oriented concepts.”
According to Placer.ai, Thornton Town Center ranks among the top nine percent of community shopping center destinations in Colorado, generating more than five million visits and nearly 700,000 unique visitors over the past year, with crossover traffic from adjacent anchors including Walmart Supercenter (3.2 million visits) and The Home Depot (1.1 million visits). The center also benefits from a strong and expanding market, as Thornton’s population has increased nearly 20 percent since 2010, and Colorado ranks #1 for “most educated state” and #4 for “best state economy” (U.S. News & World Report), #5 for “best state for employment” (National Business Capital), and #7 for “top state for job growth” (Forbes).
Founded in 1960, Continental Realty Corporation is a vertically integrated, privately held commercial real estate and investment company specializing in the acquisition and operation of retail and multifamily properties. CRC owns and manages a diversified, national portfolio of more than eight million square feet of retail space and over 10,000 apartment homes across 15 states, with a total value of more than $4.2 billion. Guided by a commitment to excellence and long-term value creation, CRC combines market insight, disciplined investment strategies, and a people-first approach to deliver exceptional results for investors, residents, and communities.
