Former Urban Edge And Federal Realty Execs Form New Boston-Based Firm

A new real estate investment and development firm has been launched by executives of two major retail real estate investment trusts. 

The formation of Hg80 Real Estate was led by Chris Weilminster, Timothy Mount and Don Briggs, Weilminster announced in a LinkedIn post last week. Weilminster and Briggs worked together at both Urban Edge and Federal Realty and have known each other for over two decades, CoStar News reported. 

The Boston-based firm will be focused on acquiring and developing retail-focused mixed-use projects but is looking to partner with investors and owners.

"We believe there is an opportunity and a real need with either family offices, pension funds, private equity groups that have control of very large real estate ... [to] directly use our vision ... and turn it into something that adds real value and creates community for where that real estate sits," Weilminster told CoStar.

The firm will also concentrate on working with lenders, creating public-private partnerships with municipalities and acquiring mixed-use properties in New England, the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, the Southeast and Florida, according to its marketing brochure.

Weilminster and Mount are founding partners of the firm with Briggs coming on as a managing partner.

The three have decades of experience in the retail and mixed-use sectors. Weilminster was the chief operating officer of Urban Edge and before that spent roughly 29 years at Federal Realty, most recently as an executive vice president.

Briggs also worked at Federal Realty and Urban Edge, and his most recent role was as senior vice president at National Development. Mount is the co-owner of urban design firm Street-Works Studio where he partnered alongside Weilminster and Briggs on projects like Assembly Row and Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, Maryland, CoStar reported.