January 7, 2026

MCB Real Estate Completes Acquisition of Epic Real Estate Partners, adding $575M in Assets Under Management

Portfolio encompasses approximately 2.2 million square feet of grocery-anchored shopping centers located across 10 states

MCB Real Estate, a privately-held national commercial real estate investment management and development firm with nationwide holdings and more than $4 billion in assets under management (AUM), has completed the acquisition of Austin, Texas-based Epic Real Estate Partners. The transaction includes the operation of 15 grocery-anchored shopping centers totaling just over two million square feet of retail space across 10 states, with a total portfolio value exceeding $575 million, as well as the operating company encompassing 13 professionals. The assets were cumulatively 92 percent leased and occupied, and the ownership structure of all property-level limited partnerships stayed intact as part of the transaction. The Epic Real Estate Partners team members will continue to operate from the Austin and Dallas offices acquired, working within the operating platform of Baltimore-based MCB Real Estate.

The sale follows last year’s purchase of the 440,000 square foot Northwoods Shopping Center in San Antonio, Texas by a joint venture partnership of MCB Real Estate, Epic Real Estate Partners, and Centerbridge Partners. Over the past 12 months, MCB Real Estate has completed acquisitions and taken on management responsibilities for more than $1 billion in commercial real estate assets in various U.S. Markets.

“The Epic Real Estate Partners portfolio, consisting of institutional-quality and high-performing grocery-anchored retail shopping centers, aligns perfectly with our existing national portfolio, while also providing a strong foothold and strategic presence into new submarkets with extremely favorable long-term growth opportunities,” stated P. David Bramble, MCB’s co-founder and managing partner. “We have known and respected the Epic team for years, and it was extremely important to retain the professional talent at Epic Real Estate Partners as part of this transaction, based on their familiarity with the portfolio and their important role in our long-term development and acquisition strategy targeting core-plus and value-add grocery anchored shopping centers. By combining capabilities, we are better positioned to leverage our collective retail real estate experience and knowledge to turbo-charge our strategic national growth and efficiently deploy capital across primary and secondary markets.”

Epic Real Estate Partners, a privately-held firm, has a 13-year track record of investing in grocery-anchored retail assets on across the U.S. The company’s three founding principals – Daniel Holland, Jason Maddox, and Nick Tortorice – collectively have more than 90 years of experience in retail operations, development and acquisitions and have acquired or developed approximately $2.6 billion in retail assets. They lead a fully vertically integrated platform encompassing accounting, acquisitions, asset and property management, finance, and legal capabilities that will be rolled into the MCB Real Estate management infrastructure.

“Epic and MCB think about business the same way and approach investments with a like-minded philosophy,” stated Nick Tortorice, Chief Investment Officer for Epic Real Estate Partners. “We are proud of the relationships and market knowledge that have helped build Epic, and we greatly value what MCB brings to the table. By leveraging this combined expertise and network across the grocery-anchored sector, we can accomplish even more together.”

Portfolio primarily concentrated in south and southwest markets

Epic Real Estate Partners’ portfolio is strategically located across 10 states, with a strong concentration in high-growth Sun Belt and Midwest markets. Properties are situated throughout Texas, North Carolina, Minnesota, and other key metropolitan and suburban markets, including Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Tennessee, California, Louisiana, and Hawaii, providing broad geographic diversification and exposure to resilient, necessity-based retail corridors.

Following the 440,000 square foot Northwoods Shopping Center, the largest asset in Epic Real Estate Partners’ management portfolio is the 290,000 square foot Marketplace Shopping Center in Temple, Texas and the smallest is the 74,000 square foot Sprouts Crossing in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market. The average shopping center size in the portfolio is just over 150,000 square feet of space.

“This acquisition continues our disciplined strategy to secure assets which provide diversification and exposure to unique and high-performing retail markets,” Bramble added. “It underscores our conviction to partner with best-in-class professionals and perfectly positions our expanded team to respond to emerging opportunities. This acquisition came to fruition because of our deep industry knowledge and availability of ready capital, and we intend to remain committed in our pursuit of new value-add and core plus retail assets.”

Shopping center visitor levels have surpassed pre-pandemic levels by nearly 3 percent

According to the white paper “Shopping Centers: An Essential Opportunity in Uncertain Times” (SRR Consulting for MCB Real Estate, September 2025), open-air shopping centers have not only rebounded to pre-pandemic visitor levels but surpassed them by 2.7 percent in Q2 2025. This resurgence, fueled by essential retailers and proximity to residential neighborhoods, highlights the sustained consumer preference for accessible, budget-conscious retail formats.

Retail trade association ICSC’s Halo Effect Report further validates retail’s durable nature, showing a powerful correlation between the arrival of a physical store and increased online sales. Opening a brick-and-mortar location reliably signals that shoppers will spend more online and in the new store, strengthening the case for necessity-based, omnichannel-advantaged retail.

According to ICSC research, the national retail vacancy rate is hovering around 4 percent and nearly 5,000 restaurants have opened in 2025. The combination of a significant decrease in the number of new shopping center construction starts and sustained leasing activity has placed upward pressure on leasing rates, which is a recognized signal of a healthy retail sector.

Grocery-anchored retail properties remain most attractive and resilient asset class

“The Epic portfolio reinforces where and how consumers prefer to shop and it highlights the long-term durability of the retail asset class,” stated Daniel Taub, MCB Real Estate’s Head of Retail. “As investor sentiment evolves, retail properties, particularly grocery anchored strip centers, are gaining momentum due to attractive pricing, strong fundamentals, and limited new supply, positioning them as resilient and strategically compelling assets in today’s shifting economic landscape.”

The transaction continues MCB Real Estate’s strategy and optimization of value-add and stabilized retail assets in high-traffic and high-growth markets nationally. Recent retail activity includes the aforementioned Northwoods Shopping Center in San Antonio, Texas, Century Marketplace, a $100 million redevelopment in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn; Reservoir Square, the $170 million mixed-use development in Baltimore, Maryland, the $65 million purchase of Falcon Ridge Shopping Center in Fontana, California; and the acquisition of Takoma Park Shopping Center in a Washington, D.C. submarket.

Founded in 2007, MCB Real Estate is a community-centric, privately held national commercial real estate investment management and development firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. MCB boasts a nationwide portfolio of approximately $4 billion in assets under management and owns or manages approximately 20 million square feet, with nearly six million square feet in its development pipeline. Property types include industrial, office, retail, mixed-use, multifamily, and healthcare. The firm offers a seamlessly integrated suite of commercial real estate investment services, including acquisitions, development, construction, asset management, property management, leasing, marketing, financing, and legal expertise, thus ensuring comprehensive support throughout every stage of an asset’s lifecycle.

New Assets Under Management