Essential Growth Properties

What Essential Growth Properties does

Essential Growth Properties (legal entity EGAP Holdings, LLC) is a private equity real estate investment company founded in 2021 and headquartered at 312 Plum St., Cincinnati, Ohio. The company acquires, owns, and operates grocery-anchored shopping centers across the United States, with an explicit focus on properties anchored by the #1 or #2 grocer in each trade area. Its portfolio comprises 23 shopping centers across 12+ states (including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia), with Kroger, Albertsons/Safeway, and Publix serving as named anchor tenants. Acquisition criteria target individual properties priced between $5M and $30M with sizes ranging from 50,000 to 300,000 square feet.

The firm's investment model is built on three stated value-creation levers: lease restructuring, tenancy optimization, and outparcel development or sales. Essential Growth Properties distributes investment opportunities exclusively through a private placement structure — currently Fund II — to accredited and qualified investors, with investor communications and portal access managed through Juniper Square. Property management operations are delivered through a strategic partnership with 1045 Inc., which provides local property management expertise across 15 offices managing more than 1,000 grocery-anchored centers.

The company was formed by four founding partners with over 100 years of collective grocery retail real estate experience, including a CEO (Nicholas Hodge) who spent 20 years as Vice President of Corporate Real Estate at The Kroger Co. overseeing nearly 3,000 retail, industrial, and manufacturing assets and $2B+ in annual capital deployment. The firm has assembled an operational team of approximately 15 staff spanning asset management, property management, transactions and legal, fund accounting, lease administration, and analyst functions. Revenue is derived from real estate fund management fees and property value appreciation; specific fund size, management fee rates, and minimum investment thresholds are disclosed only through the private placement memorandum.

Name

Essential Growth Properties

Legal name

EGAP Holdings, LLC

Website

https://essentialgrowth.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Essential Growth Properties is a Cincinnati-based private equity real estate firm, founded in 2021, that acquires and operates a nationwide portfolio of 23 grocery-anchored shopping centers for accredited investors via its Fund II private placement.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Investment

NAICS

Other Financial Investment Activities (5239), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799), Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Market Research & Economic Advisory (Demand/Supply, Location Analytics) (BPAJANAD)

Keywords

• Grocery-anchored retail
• Shopping center investments
• Private equity real estate
• Commercial property management
• Accredited investor funds

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Investment Management: Real estate investment management generating returns through property acquisitions, lease restructuring, tenancy optimization, and strategic sales of grocery-anchored shopping centers. Revenue derived from fund management fees and property value appreciation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Essential Growth Properties is a private equity real estate investment company that raises capital from accredited investors through Fund II and deploys it to acquire, own, and operate grocery-anchored shopping centers across the United States. The firm sources deals through 30+ year relationships with major grocery operators (Kroger, Albertsons/Safeway) and creates value via lease restructuring, tenancy optimization, and outparcel development. Property management is delivered through a partnership with 1045 Inc., providing national reach backed by local execution.

Product overview

Essential Growth Properties operates as a private equity real estate investment company offering a single unified investment product through its Fund II vehicle, which acquires and manages a nationwide portfolio of 23 grocery-anchored shopping centers. The company provides property management services through its partnership with 1045 Inc., leveraging over 100 years of collective retail real estate experience. The portfolio includes properties anchored by major grocery retailers such as Kroger, Albertsons/Safeway, and Publix, spanning multiple states including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Essential Growth Properties Fund II

Quantifiable outcome

• Target acquisition range: $5M to $30M per property
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• 1045 Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Property management partnership providing local property management expertise on a national scale through 15 offices nationwide. Manages over 1,000 grocery-anchored centers. Essential Growth Properties was formed by principals of 1045 Real Estate, creating integrated real estate services platform supporting grocery, pharmacy, and essential retailers.
• KrogercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 199430+ year relationship with Kroger, the largest grocery retailer in the US. CEO Nicholas Hodge spent 20 years with Kroger as VP Corporate Real Estate, covering nearly 3,000 retail, industrial & manufacturing assets. Kroger anchors multiple shopping centers in the EGP portfolio.
• Albertsons/SafewaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 199430+ year relationship with Albertsons/Safeway. Major grocery chain anchoring shopping centers in the portfolio with strong market positions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• InvenTrust Properties: Public REIT with grocery-anchored retail properties across multiple states; comparable focus on essential retail and similar acquisition size range to EGP.
• Phillips Edison & Company: Public REIT focused exclusively on grocery-anchored shopping centers; near-identical investment thesis, tenant mix, and target asset class as EGP, serving the same necessity-retail investor base.
• Regency Centers Corporation: Premier public REIT focused on grocery-anchored shopping centers with a national footprint; directly comparable strategy of acquiring and operating necessity-anchored open-air centers in high-density markets.
• Kimco Realty: Large public REIT focused on grocery-anchored shopping centers; a primary competitor for grocery-anchored retail acquisitions across the U.S. with overlapping tenant relationships.
• Brixmor Property Group: Public REIT owning and operating open-air shopping centers anchored by grocery and other necessity retailers; directly comparable portfolio composition and active-management approach.
• Kite Realty Group: Public REIT focused on open-air shopping centers with grocery anchors; highly comparable investment strategy targeting necessity-based retail in Sun Belt and growth markets.
• Federal Realty Investment Trust: Public REIT with a mixed retail portfolio that includes grocery-anchored shopping centers; comparable grocery-anchored component with a similar value-add, active-management orientation.

Emerging players

• Acadia Realty Trust: Public REIT with grocery-anchored and street retail; overlaps with EGP on the grocery-anchored component while also pursuing urban and mixed-use formats outside EGP's scope.

Broad incumbents

• NetSTREIT: Public net-lease REIT including grocery-anchored retail among its portfolio; broader mandate than EGP but shares anchor-tenant relationships and acquisition scale.
• Realty Income Corporation: Largest public net-lease REIT with grocery-anchored retail among its tenant base; much larger scale than EGP but competing for similar necessity-retail assets and tenants.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/essentialgrowthproperties

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Essential Growth Properties