Lincoln Property is a partner in development of buildings at the $1.5 billion Star in Frisco like this one, seen in a 2022 photo.Lincoln provided an unspecified dollar amount of investment capital to allow Centennial to grow its portfolio. Lincoln also made a significant investment in Centennial’s operating company, said Steven Levin, Centennial’s founder and CEO.The partnership gives both companies advantages.
“We are interested in doing a lot more investment in amazing leadership and amazing organizations that broaden our capability set, either from an investment and/or a service perspective. And Centennial just fits that perfectly,” said David Binswanger, Lincoln’s co-CEO. “ really has never been in the large format, mixed-use retail business.”Centennial operates more than 23 million square feet of retail and mixed-use properties in 18 states and experience as a mall operator.
The partnership will focus on developing and investing in community-centric projects. They’ll evaluate opportunities to acquire underperforming real estate. The companies have collaborated on several joint ventures over the last decade, they said. “Enclosed malls or large open-air malls … are overbuilt today,” Levin said. “The best projects in America, in our opinion, are projects that are mixed-use — very dominant retail, but bring together an environment of residential, of working and of complementary uses. … Lincoln, as a leading developer of complementary uses, is the other part of the equation that really creates those great projects.”Lincoln’s investment is the latest step in its focus on the retail segment.