Texas Retail Center: Houston JV Buys Vintage

In San Antonio, Fifth Corner, a Houston-based real estate firm focused on urban retail properties in walkable locations, has purchased a midcentury shopping center in San Antonio’s Alamo Heights neighborhood in partnership with Headwall Investments.

Sunset Ridge Shopping Center (circa 1951)

San Antonio-based Headwall Investments reported the joint venture’s purchase of Sunset Ridge Shopping Center, a landmark 1951 retail center on the corner of North New Braunfels Avenue and Brees Boulevard near affluent neighborhoods such as Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, and Olmos Park. The off-market transaction marks the first time the property has changed hands since 2003.

The partnership draws upon Fifth Corner’s expertise in preserving and enhancing legacy retail properties and Headwall’s knowledge of the San Antonio market.

“This generational asset represents the kind of premier retail opportunity that aligns perfectly with our long-term conviction in high-quality, community-serving centers in Texas’ strongest submarkets,” said George J. Wommack, Founder, President & CEO of Headwall Investments. “Our San Antonio roots and headquarters just minutes from the property provide unique on-the-ground insight, and partnering with a firm like Fifth Corner—whose track record in landmark retail is exceptional—positions us ideally to steward this center thoughtfully for the next generation.”

Fifth Corner Follows Up on Rice Village Deal

The deal comes on the heels of Fifth Corner’s purchase of a 1950-vintage retail center in The Village in Houston. That purchase included a collection of shops and offices totaling 28,500 SF on two acres along Rice Boulevard and Times Boulevard, west of Rice University. Fifth Corner intends to renovate the retail rather than replace it, as some other interested buyers had considered.

San Antonio has been an active market for retail investments. Houston-based Dhanani Private Equity Group recently purchased the Park North Shopping Center, a major 635,325-SF regional retail center in the largest shopping center sale in San Antonio since 2021, as stated by JLL Capital Markets.

Headwall Investments, a privately held commercial real estate investment and development firm founded in 2019, has purchased more than 20 unanchored neighborhood shopping centers in Texas. The company has more than $250 million in assets under management.