Founded in September 1982 in New York City, CRC began as a real estate advisory, consulting, and brokerage firm. In addition to serving as the principal advisor for a major real estate syndicator, by the mid-1980s CRC began acquiring properties for its own account. CRC began its management activities in 1984, later opening branch offices in response to client needs in Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Miami, Florida; and Seattle, Washington.
Highlights:
- Brokered a purchase for a major international pension fund in 1984
- Purchased office, warehouse, and retail properties on behalf of a syndicator and for CRC’s own account in California, Colorado, Texas, Indiana, Michigan, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, and elsewhere
- Acquired a 42-story, 510,000 ft2 (47,380 m2) office building in Seattle, Washington, in 1987
Continuing its rapid growth, CRC acquired major mixed-use properties in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and New Orleans, Louisiana, comprising more than 1,000,000 ft2. In Cincinnati, CRC completely renovated its 600,000 ft2 building, converting and upgrading the hotel portion of its mixed-use property, formerly a Hilton, into a Crowne Plaza Hotel. Meanwhile, CRC also leased 200,000 ft2 of office space within the building to a major telecommunications company, and successfully leased the ground-floor retail space within the building.
A retail center in Miami owned by CRC was severely damaged by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Overcoming the substantial challenges posed by reconstruction, CRC quickly rebuilt the property and assisted several major national retailers in rapidly resuming their business operations.
The end of the 1990s also marked one of CRC’s most profitable periods. Despite the severe national recession, CRC was able to generate cash flow and create value and capital appreciation for itself and its partners in many of its properties. Through sales, refinancing, redevelopment, and retenanting, CRC was able to build substantial value for itself and its partners.
Highlights:
- Purchased more than 1,000,000 ft2 of property, including hotel, office, and retail space
- Rehabilitated and sold its Miami retail center in 1999 for a sizable profit
Anticipating secular changes in the real estate market based upon fundamental technological and economic transformation, CRC began shifting its investments from predominantly office and retail properties, and into residential and parking properties. During this decade, CRC acquired dozens of primarily high-end condominiums across the United States, and developed its multi-family residential assets in New Orleans.
As part of its expansion into residential property, CRC qualified its New Orleans property for the National Register of Historic Places, and commenced the build-out of its residential and parking facility. Though delayed by Hurricane Katrina, CRC leveraged the expertise it gained through its rebuilding efforts in the 1990s to rapidly complete the renovation of the property. As a result of its efforts, CRC’s New Orleans property – branded as 925 Common in honor of its historic street address – became the first new residential property to be opened after the storm. CRC is proud of its contribution to the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans, helping to create jobs and first-class housing in the midst of one of the city’s darkest times.
During this same period, CRC commenced the development process for its River House property on newly-vacant land in downtown Baton Rouge, the state capital of Louisiana. This ground-up development provides badly-needed residential and commercial space in a prime transit corridor between downtown Baton Rouge and the Louisiana State University (LSU).
Highlights:
- Redeveloped a historic property in downtown New Orleans, which was to become the first new residential property to open after Hurricane Katrina
- Initial development work started on River House, a 9+-acre mixed-use property in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Acquired various luxury residential properties in several states
Moving into CRC’s fourth decade, CRC focused on the completion of phase II of 925 Common and the development of River House. Together, these two projects will comprise over 500,000 ft2 of development space, and will constitute CRC’s largest development projects to date.
In addition, CRC, as a buyer of certain undervalued net-leased assets, invested substantial equity into quality net-lease commercial properties. Since 2010, CRC has created a diversified portfolio of net lease properties across several states. These investments expand CRC’s holdings while providing reliable cash flow from credit tenants, and CRC intends to acquire net lease properties on a regular basis for the foreseeable future.
CRC also repositioned an infill shopping center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The former Super Kmart center was expanded and rebuilt. CRC and its affiliates signed major leases with an international discount supermarket chain and a home improvement and agriculture retailer.
Finally, 2010 saw CRC’s first international expansion. Through its affiliate, Continental Americas Regional Center, LLC (CARC), CRC expanded into the Asian market in order to serve the growing appetite for inward-bound Asian investment to the United States. Based in Shanghai since 2011, CARC brings CRC’s offerings to the Chinese market, including EB-5 immigration investments, a portfolio of US residential properties, and CRC’s investment consulting services. As a USCIS-designated Regional Center (RC) under the EB-5 Program, CARC has facilitated foreign investment into exciting projects across the state of Louisiana.
Highlights:
- Two major development projects which, when completed, will include over 450 apartments
- Multiple acquisitions of credit-tenant net-lease properties
- Major repositioning of shopping center
- International expansion through Continental Americas Regional Center, LLC, an affiliated company