Kensington Development Partners

What Kensington Development Partners does

Kensington Development Partners is a privately held U.S. commercial real estate development firm incorporated in 2017 and headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, with a Mountain West regional office in Denver, Colorado opened in 2020. The firm develops retail and mixed-use real estate projects — including grocery-anchored centers, large master-planned mixed-use districts, and single-tenant build-to-suit programs — primarily for high-growth national retailers such as Target, Whole Foods Market, ALDI, Amazon Fresh, Kohl's, Cooper's Hawk Winery, and Portillo's. It serves two primary customer segments: national retail chains seeking rapid multi-site deployment, and municipal governments seeking tax-revenue-generating developments; secondary segments include real estate investors and residential developers for joint ventures.

The firm operates a vertically integrated development platform covering site selection, entitlements, contract and lease negotiation, financial gap analysis, economic incentive packages, and construction management, with principal-level involvement on every project. It has completed 112 projects totaling 11.3 million square feet and $2 billion in market value developed, including 120 single-tenant build-to-suits and 42 grocery-anchored developments, and has negotiated approximately 65 public/private agreements with municipalities across 7 states.

Kensington's business model is project-based and fee-driven, with revenue from development fees on retail and mixed-use projects plus one-time economics on build-to-suit deliveries. It is financially underpinned by a 17-year strategic equity partnership with UK-based IM Properties (portfolio valued in excess of $1 billion), established in 2009 and formalized in 2018 as IM's exclusive U.S. developer for retail, residential, and industrial. The firm pursues a relationship-based enterprise field sales motion, supported by a small core team of approximately 11 professionals and supplemented by joint venture partners in new geographies.

Name

Kensington Development Partners

Legal name

Kensington Development Partners

Website

https://kensingtondev.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kensington Development Partners is a privately held U.S. real estate development firm that develops retail, mixed-use, and build-to-suit projects for national retailers and municipalities, anchored by a 17-year equity partnership with UK-based IM Properties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Development

NAICS

Land Subdivision (23721), Land Subdivision (237210)

SIC

Land Subdividers & Developers (No Cemeteries) (6552), Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532), General Bldg Contractors - Residential Bldgs (1520)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Land Development & Subdivision Homebuilding (Build-to-Sell Communities) (IMAFABAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Land & Development Site Brokerage (BPAJABAG)

Keywords

• Mixed-use real estate development
• Build-to-suit retail
• Grocery-anchored centers
• Commercial real estate services
• Retail property development

Headquarters

HQ city

Oak Brook

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Development Fees: Development fees from retail and mixed-use projects, including site selection, entitlements, construction management, and lease negotiations for national retailers and municipalities.
2. Build-to-Suit Development: Single-tenant build-to-suit developments for high-growth retailers requiring speed to market.
3. Mixed-Use Development: Vertically integrated mixed-use development combining retail, residential, entertainment, and hospitality components.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Kensington Development Partners is a national commercial real estate development firm specializing in grocery-anchored mixed-use projects and single-tenant build-to-suit developments for high-growth national retailers. The firm delivers end-to-end services including site selection, municipal entitlements, public/private agreement negotiation, contract and lease negotiation, financial gap analysis, and construction management. It also operates as the exclusive U.S. developer for UK-based equity partner IM Properties, executing projects across the Midwest, Mountain West, and Southwest.

Product overview

Kensington Development Partners is a national real estate development company specializing in mixed-use developments, grocery-anchored retail projects, and build-to-suit programs for single-tenant retailers. The company operates a portfolio of development projects including Link 56 (150-acre Denver mixed-use), The Clove (Buffalo Grove mixed-use with luxury residences), Signature at SanTan Village (Arizona retail development), Village at Avon (Vail Valley mixed-use), 90North District East (Schaumburg entertainment district), The Enclave (Algonquin mixed-use), and various single-tenant build-to-suit projects. The company has completed 112 projects totaling 11.3 million square feet with $2 billion in market value developed.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mixed-Use Development Services
• Build-to-Suit Development Program
• Grocery-Anchored Development Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 112 projects completed totaling 11.3 million square feet with $2B market value developed
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• SanTan Development GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner for Signature at SanTan Village development in Gilbert, Arizona. SanTan Development Group serves as long-time Arizona landowners and developers, providing local market expertise and land assets for the 30-acre mixed-use project.
• Jasmine Development GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJV partner for Village at Avon mixed-use development in Avon, CO. Collaborating on the 40-acre master planned development anchored by Whole Foods Market.
• Livmark CommunitiesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment partner for Link 56 residential component. Partnering on Stellar at Link 56, the first phase of residential development with 214 units adjacent to Target anchor.
• Bradford Real EstateminorOthersFormer affiliated company. Chad Jones previously served as CFO of Bradford Real Estate. Kensington team members have history of collaboration on numerous projects.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Regency Centers: Public REIT that owns, operates, and develops grocery-anchored open-air shopping centers. Larger and publicly traded, but business model of partnering with or developing for national grocery and lifestyle anchors is highly comparable to Kensington's development pipeline.
• Acadia Realty Trust: Public REIT with a fund management platform that acquires, develops, and redevelops grocery-anchored and mixed-use retail. Comparable development-acquisition strategy and tenant relationships with national grocers and big-box retailers.
• Brixmor Property Group: Public retail REIT owning and developing open-air shopping centers anchored by grocery and value retailers. Comparable in tenant focus and large-scale open-air retail development, though more ownership/operating than development.
• Kite Realty Group: Public open-air retail REIT with active mixed-use development; comparable in tenant mix and grocery-anchored sub-segment focus. Larger and publicly traded but in the same commercial real estate development category.
• Phillips Edison & Company: Public REIT focused on grocery-anchored necessity retail shopping centers with an active third-party development platform. Directly comparable grocery-anchored development focus and tenant roster.
• Kimco Realty: One of the largest publicly traded retail REITs, focused on open-air grocery-anchored shopping centers. Comparable tenant relationships (Whole Foods, Sprouts, ALDI) and mixed-use expansion program; much larger scale than Kensington.

Direct peers

• Federal Realty Investment Trust: Public mixed-use REIT that develops and owns grocery-anchored, mixed-use town-center assets in high-density U.S. markets. Closest public comparable to Kensington's mixed-use, grocery-anchored, multi-family residential strategy and tenant mix (Whole Foods, Target).
• CASTO: Privately held, vertically integrated real estate developer specializing in mixed-use and grocery-anchored retail across the Midwest and Southeast. Operates at a similar scale to Kensington with comparable tenant relationships and integrated site-selection, leasing, and construction.
• Benderson Development: Private, family-owned retail and mixed-use developer with one of the largest U.S. portfolios of grocery-anchored and open-air retail centers. Comparable scale, geographic diversification, and tenant-mix focus (national grocery, restaurant, fitness).
• Steiner + Associates: Private real estate developer focused on town-center, mixed-use, and lifestyle retail developments. Comparable private developer model with multi-anchor retail and residential components similar to Link 56, 90North, and Village at Avon.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kensingtondevelopmentpartners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Kensington Development Partners