In its newest transaction, the Illinois REIT paid locally based Sand Lake Corners LP $22 million or $115.94 per sf for the 95%-leased, 189,741-sf Sand Lake Corners Shopping Center in south Orlando, one of the hottest retail submarkets in Central Florida.

The deal marked Inland's third acquisition this year of prime neighborhood centers in metro Orlando and boosts its Southeast portfolio to 2.76 million sf.

The REIT has added 500,000 sf to its portfolio this year alone, most of it in Florida, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee. In its 1999 startup year, Inland owned 1.5 million sf.

"Orlando is one of the fastest-growing retail markets in the nation," Steve Sanders, senior vice president, Inland Real Estate Acquisitions Inc., tells GlobeSt.com. "We obviously look for properties in this area because the high-traffic and growth make it more resistant to recession."

Another plus in buying Orlando area properties is utilizing its on-site resources. "It allows us to use our property management teams that are already in place and that saves us time and money while ensuring that our tenants have they service they deserve," Sanders says.

Beall's, Staples and PetsMart are the lead tenants at the one-year-old Sand Lake Corners center. Wal-Mart and Lowe's Home Improvement are shadow anchors and are not part of the transaction.

The 31-space center has 27 tenants occupying a total 180,791 sf. Average asking rents are $12 per sf to $28 per sf.

Sanders and outside counsel Charles Benvenuto negotiated for Inland. They also handled the $9.55 million ($157.74 per sf) acquisition from Georgia-based Oak Vest in April of the five-month-old, 60,539-sf, 100%-leased West Oaks Towne Center in suburban Ocoee, FL, eight miles west of Downtown Orlando.

In February, Inland picked up the fully leased, four-month-old, 65,870-sf Columbia Promenade Shopping Center in Kissimmee, FL, 20 miles south of Downtown, for $7.3 million or $111.39 per sf. The seller was Winter Park, FL-based Columbia Promenade Associates.

In a new sale-leaseback transaction, Inland paid PetsMart Inc. of Phoenix $3.23 million or $123.31 per sf for a 26,194-sf PetsMart store in Daytona Beach, FL, 50 miles northeast of Downtown Orlando.

Joseph Cosenza, chairman of Inland Real Estate Acquistions Inc., negotiated for Inland Retail Real Estate Trust. Rick Franz, vice president/real estate development, PetsMart Inc., represented his firm.