Crescent Real Estate closed its latest investment fund, pulling in $241.5 million for commercial real estate moves, as fundraising across private equity remains under pressure.
The Fort Worth-based firm wrapped up what it called “GP Invitation Fund IV” on Dec. 31, falling shy of its $250 million target, according to federal filings. The raise marks Crescent’s fourth invitation fund and comes three years after the company collected $265 million for Fund III in 2022 through a similarly invitation-only process, the Dallas Business Journal reported.
The closing offers a snapshot of a tougher capital raising climate. Global private equity fundraising slid for a third straight year in 2025, dropping 12.7 percent to $480.3 billion from $551.2 billion in 2024, according to S&P Global. Fewer funds came to market as well, a slowdown that cut across buyout, growth and diversified strategies.
Christopher Goff, senior managing director and head of capital formation at Crescent, described 2025 as an “adjustment year” after the easy money era that followed the Federal Reserve’s pandemic-era rate cuts. Inflation and higher borrowing costs have since reset expectations.
Even so, Crescent wasted little time deploying capital. Goff — Chairman John Goff’s son — told the outlet that about 15 percent to 20 percent of Fund IV has already been committed, including multiple Uptown Dallas office deals that closed late last year. Those included the 19-story building at 2100 McKinney, anchored by CBRE, and the Texas Capital Center at 2000 McKinney Avenue, which several market sources pegged as the largest office sale in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2025.
The fund’s flexible mandate allows Crescent to invest across office, residential and hotel projects, rather than locking into a single property type. Lately, trophy offices have emerged as the firm’s highest conviction play, even as many institutional investors remain wary of the sector, according to Goff.
Crescent was founded in 1987 by John Goff and the late Richard Rainwater and reported $4.3 billion in assets under management at the end of 2024. Across all strategies, the company controls more than $16 billion of real estate, including 67 million square feet of offices, 10,100 apartments and 9,300 hotel keys, according to its website.
In North Texas, Crescent continues to double down on Uptown, where it owns the iconic Crescent complex, reacquired in 2021, and is advancing construction on the second office building at its Crescent Fort Worth development, anchored by JPMorgan Chase.
While the firm has expressed interest in seeing Dallas thrive broadly — including Downtown, which faces fresh headwinds after AT&T’s announced exit — Crescent’s strategy remains tightly focused.
“We want to be super disciplined,” Goff said. “Where do we feel like we have a comparative advantage? And where do our investors feel like we can operate better than anybody else?”
For now, that answer points squarely to Uptown Dallas — and to offices — even as much of the market stays on the sidelines.
— Eric Weilbacher
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