Pensacola’s Catalyst Lands $400 Million Nuveen Partnership

Rick Outzen

3 hours ago

Two construction workers with hard hats and reflective vests discuss inside an unfinished building frame with metal studs and piping visible behind them.

Business & Development

Chad Henderson’s national health care development firm pairs with one of the world’s largest real estate investment managers to fund $1.3 billion in new projects—while Henderson keeps building at home in Pensacola.

Pensacola-based Catalyst Healthcare Real Estate announced today that it has formed a $400 million equity joint venture with Nuveen Real Estate, one of the largest real estate investment managers in the world. The venture will support roughly $1.3 billion in total development costs across Catalyst’s national pipeline of health care projects.

Catalyst, founded by CEO Chad Henderson in 2011, has grown from a boutique Pensacola startup into a national health care real estate developer with offices in Central Florida, Nashville and Dallas. The new capital will fund a majority of Catalyst’s contractual ground-up development initiatives from 2026 through 2028, with a focus on high-growth markets across the country.

“Nuveen’s scale, sector expertise, and long-term investment horizon make them a strong strategic capital partner as Catalyst continues to grow,” said Henderson.

What the Deal Covers

The details:

$400 million in committed equity backing roughly $1.3 billion in development
Focus areas include medical office buildings, specialty health care facilities, and healthspan projects tied to academic institutions and health systems
Runs primarily through 2026–2028
Blackbirch Capital and CBRE Healthcare served as Catalyst’s exclusive advisor on the venture

Nuveen reported $136 billion in assets under management as of June 30, and has more than 600 real estate employees across 30-plus cities worldwide. It has been an active healthcare-development capital source since 2025. Nuveen’s Head of Healthcare Real Estate, Andrew Pyke, called Catalyst’s project pipeline “proprietary” and generated by the firm’s “deep industry relationships and sector expertise.”

Why it matters locally: This is Catalyst’s second major institutional capital partnership in recent years, following a $1.5 billion joint venture with Washington, D.C.-based National Real Estate Advisors in 2021 and a $300 million venture with Heitman in 2024. Each deal has expanded the company’s reach, keeping high-level real estate finance jobs and decision-making in Pensacola even as the projects themselves are built in 20-plus states.

Local Footprint

While Catalyst’s health care work spans the country, Henderson—a fourth-generation Pensacola native and Florida State University grad—has also been one of the most active private investors reshaping Pensacola itself. Outside of Catalyst, he’s behind three major Northwest Florida projects:

East Garden District, an approximately $80 million mixed-use development in downtown Pensacola featuring a nine-story hotel, restaurants and a 250-unit apartment complex
OLF-8, a 540-acre master-planned development in Beulah
Ransley Station, a 60-acre master-planned development in Northwest Pensacola

Henderson is also a board member and investor in Dr. James Andrews’ Andrews Medicine, LLC, and founder of Andrews Athlete, an injury-prevention and sports medicine initiative partnering with universities and sports organizations.

By the numbers: Catalyst says it has guided more than $2.5 billion in healthcare real estate investment nationally since its founding, with projects across more than 20 states. Henderson was named Healthcare Real Estate Executive of the Year in 2024. Last year, Catalyst was named among the top 100 Florida’s Best Companies To Work For.