Core Acquisitions

What Core Acquisitions does

Core Acquisitions is a Chicago-based commercial real estate investment, development, property management, and asset management firm founded in 2011 by Adam Firsel (originally as Core Equities, LLC) and restructured under its current name in 2014 when Brad Joseph joined as Principal. The firm operates a fully integrated five-module platform spanning Acquisitions and Development, Property Management, Asset Management, Construction Management, and Third-Party Management, serving real estate investors, property owners, national and regional retail tenants, and financial institutions/special servicers. Geographically, Core focuses on stabilized, value-add, and development opportunities across nine Midwestern states (Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin), with selective national deals including Tennessee (Carriage Crossing, 514,000 SF) and Maryland (two 7-Eleven properties). Its customer base includes national and regional credit tenants such as Starbucks, Verizon, McDonald's, LA Fitness, Target, Walmart, and Best Buy, anchored by a portfolio of more than 1,000,000 square feet under management.

The firm's business model blends principal real estate investing with fee-based management services. Revenue is generated through (i) one-off acquisitions, dispositions, and developments executed directly or via joint ventures, (ii) recurring property and asset management fees on owned and third-party assets, and (iii) construction management and development oversight fees. Notable transactions include the $25 million acquisition of Carriage Crossing in March 2023 (with two Chicago co-investors) and its later disposition, the $13.5 million acquisition of Boulevard of North Shore in Skokie, IL, and the October 2023 sale of Westview Center (321,000 SF, Hanover Park, IL), reflecting an active value-add cycle. Go-to-market is relationship-driven: direct outreach to sellers and tenants, broker co-brokering (e.g., Colliers), and active involvement in ICSC for deal sourcing.

The technology stack is industry-standard rather than proprietary, comprising Argus-based financial modeling, property management platforms, and construction management systems, with tenant and investor login portals hosted via third-party SaaS. The leadership team is sourced from established commercial real estate organizations (GMAC Commercial Mortgage, Inland Commercial Real Estate, Sterling Bay, Equity Office Properties, Altus Group, CBRE, Next Realty, Mid-America Development Partners), and principals have been involved in over $1 billion of project costs and over 100 projects throughout their careers, with $150MM+ acquired and developed under the Core Acquisitions brand since 2013.

Name

Core Acquisitions

Legal name

Core Acquisitions, LLC

Website

https://coreacq.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Core Acquisitions is a Chicago-based commercial real estate investment, development, and management firm that acquires, develops, and manages retail, office, industrial, and multi-family properties primarily across the US Midwest for investors, property owners, and national and regional tenants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Investment and Management

SIC

Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532), Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAJAMAK

Real Estate Investment Management (Acquisitions & Dispositions)

Business & Public Services/Real Estate Services (Brokerage, Property Management)/Real Estate Asset & Portfolio Management

SECONDARYBPAHAOAA

M&A Advisory (Buy-Side & Sell-Side)

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/M&A, Transaction & Restructuring Advisory

SECONDARYFSAEAGAL

Divestitures, Carve-Outs & Spin-Off Advisory

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/M&A Advisory & Corporate Finance

Keywords

• Commercial real estate investment
• Commercial property development
• Property management services
• Asset management services
• Construction management

Headquarters

HQ city

Coushatta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Acquisitions and Development: Revenue generated through the acquisition and development of commercial real estate assets including retail, office, industrial and multi-family properties. The company executes value-add strategies through successful business plan execution, preferred development, entitlements, design, and construction management.
2. Property Management: Property management fees for owned real estate portfolio and third-party accounts. Core provides consistent, innovative and flexible management approach to maximize income while maintaining efficient operations. The team has extensive property management history managing over 1,000,000 square feet of retail, office, multi-family residential and land.
3. Asset Management: Fees for overseeing leasing agents and property management personnel, including lease analysis and negotiation, work letter pricing, tenant creditworthiness analysis, comparable market analysis to determine rental rates, allowances, pass-throughs, and terms.
4. Construction Management: Oversight of all aspects of construction including requests for proposals, bid review and analysis, contract negotiation, zoning and municipal review, scheduling and timing, coordination oversight, and budget-to-actual financial reporting.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Core Acquisitions is a fully integrated commercial real estate investment, development, property and asset management firm that acquires, develops, and manages retail, office, industrial, and multi-family properties across the U.S. Midwest and select Southeast markets. The company combines acquisitions and development, property management, asset management, construction management, and third-party management services (including receiverships and mortgagee-in-posposition engagements) into a single platform for institutional and private investors, property owners, banks, and special servicers. Transaction structures include direct acquisitions, joint ventures, note purchases, bank REO, recapitalizations of distressed projects, and fee simple acquisitions.

Product overview

Core Acquisitions is a commercial real estate investment, development, property and asset management company based in Chicago, Illinois. The company operates as a single integrated platform offering five core service modules: Acquisitions and Development (focused on acquiring and developing retail, office, industrial, and multi-family properties), Property Management (managing owned real estate portfolio), Asset Management (overseeing leasing agents, lease analysis and negotiations), Development and Construction Management (construction oversight from proposals through budget reporting), and Third Party Management (providing services to external owners, investors, banks and special servicers). The company manages a diverse portfolio of commercial properties across multiple U.S. states, including shopping centers, retail outlots, office buildings, and mixed-use developments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Acquisitions and Development Core Acquisitions acquires and develops commercial real estate assets including retail, office, industrial, and multi-family properties, executing stabilized, value-add, and development opportunities. Transactions are executed through direct acquisitions, joint ventures, note purchases, bank REO, recapitalizations of distressed projects, and traditional fee simple acquisitions, primarily across Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin (with national reach for preferred development clients). It is offered to institutional and private investors seeking investment, joint-venture, and partnership opportunities and to sellers of stabilized and value-add assets.
• Property Management Property management for Core's owned portfolio and third-party accounts using a consistent, innovative, and flexible management approach designed to maximize income while maintaining efficient and economical operations. Coverage spans retail, office, multi-family residential, and land assets, with the team having managed over 1,000,000 square feet in the last three years. It is offered to property owners, investors, banks, and special servicers.
• Asset Management Asset management covering oversight of leasing agents and property management personnel, lease analysis and negotiation, work letter pricing, tenant creditworthiness analysis, comparable market analysis to determine rental rates, allowances, pass-throughs, and terms, with a focus on ensuring ownership objectives are accomplished. It is offered to owners and investors of retail, office, industrial, multi-family, and land assets.
• Development and Construction Management Oversight of all aspects of construction including requests for proposals, bid review and analysis, contract negotiation, zoning and municipal review, scheduling and timing, coordination oversight, and budget-to-actual financial reporting. The team includes professionals with over 25 years of development experience and a track record of more than 55 completed properties totaling over 6 million square feet of commercial space. It is offered to property owners, developers, and investors undertaking ground-up or value-add construction projects.
• Third Party Management Third-party commercial asset management services including property management, construction management, receiverships, and mortgagee-in-possession engagements for retail, office, industrial, land, and other commercial properties. It is offered to external owners, investors, banks, and special servicers who require outsourced operational and resolution services on their commercial real estate assets.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $1 billion in project costs developed and managed in the last ten years by principals
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 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 minor.

• T2 Capital ManagementminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 January 2024Core Acquisitions and T2 Capital Management jointly sold a two-tenant retail center in metro Chicago in January 2024. The partnership represents a co-investment relationship on specific property transactions where both parties collaborated on acquisition and eventual disposition.
• Undisclosed Chicago FirmsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2023Core Acquisitions partnered with two Chicago firms to acquire Carriage Crossing in Collierville, Tennessee for $25 million in March 2023. This represents a co-acquisition partnership for a major retail asset.
• Colliers InternationalminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorColliers International is engaged for leasing services at certain properties, specifically mentioned for Ten Parkway North office building. This is a brokerage relationship for tenant placement services.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Next Realty: Chicago-area boutique commercial real estate investment and management firm focused on value-add retail acquisitions. Both Core Acquisitions founders (Adam Firsel and Brad Joseph) previously worked at Next Realty, and the platforms share a similar deal size, geography, and retail focus, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• Mid-America Development Partners: Commercial real estate development and investment firm with similar Midwest focus on retail and mixed-use projects. Adam Firsel and Tim Flanagan both previously served at Mid-America, and the platform shares Core's land acquisition, entitlement, and ground-up development capabilities.
• Crossroads Development Partners: Midwest commercial real estate developer focused on retail and mixed-use projects. Both Adam Firsel and Brad Joseph held principal roles at Crossroads, making it a near-clone peer in deal type, size, and geography.
• Pine Tree Commercial Realty: Chicago-based commercial real estate investment and property management firm focused on grocery-anchored retail. Directly comparable in property type, geography, and tenant mix; Jonathan Spitz previously served as Senior Property Manager at Pine Tree.
• Baceline Group: Boutique commercial real estate investment firm focused on necessity-based retail strip centers across the U.S. Sameer Khan (now Core's Director of Acquisitions) previously led sourcing at Baceline, and the firm shares Core's small-shop retail focus.
• T2 Capital Management: Chicago-based commercial real estate investment manager. Core and T2 jointly acquired and disposed of a two-tenant retail center in metro Chicago in January 2024, evidencing direct co-investment overlap and similar deal profile.
• Imperial Realty Company: Midwest commercial real estate firm with leasing, development, and asset management capabilities. Adam Bell (Core's VP of Development) previously worked at Imperial Realty in commercial leasing, retail development, and Argus-based underwriting.

Broad incumbents

• Sterling Bay: Chicago-based real estate investment and development firm with broader mixed-use, office, and life sciences focus. Brad Joseph previously led acquisitions at Sterling Bay; comparable as a regional CRE platform but materially larger and more diversified than Core.
• Inland Commercial Real Estate: National commercial real estate investment, management, and property services platform. Jonathan Spitz (Core's EVP of Property Management) previously served as Senior Property Manager at Inland, providing comparable scale and a national property management footprint.
• Brixmor Property Group: NYSE-listed REIT focused on grocery-anchored open-air shopping centers, directly overlapping Core's core property type. While materially larger and publicly traded, Brixmor sets the institutional benchmark Core competes against in grocery-anchored retail acquisitions and dispositions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/coreacquisitions
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/core-acquisitions
• Xx.com/CoreAcq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Core Acquisitions