Blackstone Taps CMBS to Fund Part of $442M Texas Grocery Buy

Blackstone is doubling down on bread-and-butter retail in Texas, following a pattern of investment over the past year in grocery-anchored shopping centers across the country.

The private equity giant is using a floating-rate commercial mortgage-backed securities loan and $110.3 million of equity to acquire a 16-property, grocery-anchored portfolio across the Lone Star State, according to a presale report from Fitch Ratings. Bisnow reported that the two-year, $331.2 million loan brings the total acquisition price to $441.5 million, including $9.2 million in closing costs. The deal is slated to close March 4.

Bloomberg first reported the financing structure. Blackstone declined to comment on pricing but confirmed the acquisition, telling the outlet that grocery-anchored retail remains a “high-conviction” wager given strong sector fundamentals.

The nearly 1.9 million-square-foot portfolio spans 11 properties in the Houston area, four in Dallas-Fort Worth and one in San Antonio. Anchors include San Antonio-based H-E-B, Cincinnati-based Kroger and Indian food grocer Keemat.

The largest property is Westgate Marketplace in West Houston, a 306,000-square-foot center anchored by H-E-B and a Kohl’s, according to Bisnow. At the other end of the spectrum is Colony Plaza in Missouri City, a 26,000-square-foot strip center. The portfolio is more than 96 percent occupied, offering immediate cash flow in markets that continue to benefit from population growth.

A subsidiary of Morgan Stanley is expected to originate the CMBS loan, according to Fitch. Perform Properties, a Texas-focused retail operator specializing in grocery-anchored centers, will manage the properties.

The acquisition adds to Blackstone’s expanding grocery holdings. In February 2025, the firm acquired Retail Opportunity Investments Corporation, gaining 10.5 million square feet of grocery-anchored retail across 93 West Coast properties. Eight of the shopping centers are in Orange County, California, with transactions totaling $275 million, The Real Deal reported at the time.

It also partnered on a $1.5 billion transaction in December to take the Alexander & Baldwin REIT private, Hawaii’s largest owner of grocery-anchored shopping centers.

— Eric Weilbacher