Brentwood-based GBT Realty has locked down $1.3 billion to supercharge a fresh wave of build-to-suit retail projects and neighborhood shopping center buys across the country, a war chest that sets the company up for a busy next 18 months as it stretches beyond its Tennessee roots.
Executives told trade outlets that the $1.3 billion capital stack blends GBT’s own equity with outside commitments, including a major partner, along with nearly $500 million in lending capacity. The firm is lining up 33 new projects and beefing up its land acquisition and leasing benches, according to Bisnow. CEO Brian Dawson, who came on board last spring, said this vehicle is intended to be the first in a series as GBT plots a broader expansion play.
Local acquisition already on the books
The company is not waiting around to spend. GBT recently picked up Brentwood Corners, a 22,268-square-foot retail center in Brentwood, for $10.4 million, recent coverage shows. The purchase adds to GBT’s Tennessee footprint and showcases the kind of neighborhood centers the firm is hunting, as reported by CoStar.
How GBT plans to deploy the money
GBT says the fund will back both ground-up, build-to-suit projects and the acquisition of grocery-anchored and community shopping centers. The company named AEW Capital Management as a capital partner alongside family office and individual investors, with nearly $500 million in lending commitments supporting the strategy. The developer has added a dozen people in land acquisition, development, and leasing, and says the program is designed to push assets under management past $3 billion, according to local trade reporting from REJournals.
Why investors are backing grocery-anchored retail
Industry groups and market trackers see a stabilizing retail landscape heading into 2026, and they point out that grocery-anchored and other necessity-driven centers are still the steadiest performers. That resilience is a big reason capital is flowing back into well-located strip centers and build-to-suit deals, a backdrop that supports GBT’s current strategy and financing mix, according to the ICSC.
For Nashville and its suburbs, GBT’s new fund likely translates into more local acquisitions and job-site activity from a hometown developer with national ambitions. The company’s plan to make this a repeatable vehicle could tighten competition for neighborhood retail centers, while also creating more leasing and build-to-suit opportunities in markets where GBT already has a presence, REJournals reports.
