The acquired property, Coles Center, is located at the intersection of Texas 290 and Barker Cypress and is positioned in a high-growth, upscale residential neighborhood. The 109,757-sf center has a Randall's grocery as its anchor. Other tenants include Hallmark, Quizno's, Sally Beauty Supply, Valu Liquor and Post Net. And, crews will soon be hard at work on a 24,000-sf addition.

James Buis, managing director of Regency's southwest region, says the seller, who is not being identified, has retained another 20 plus acres for future development. It could spell a third retail phase for Coles Center, he says.

About a year ago, Regency put Patrick Egan in place in Houston to steer development of the South Texas market. Coles Center and the freshly opened Ft. Bend Market are the end result of his efforts to date. Buis says another four projects are in the offing for 2002. The strategy, he says, is to locate in areas with high retail sales volumes. Regency also owns the Champion Forest grocery-anchored plaza in northwest Houston and 34 in the entire state, the bulk of which are located in Dallas-Ft. Worth.

Ft. Bend Market is a 97,332-sf center anchored by a 29,912-sf Kroger's grocery. The retail center is located at the intersection of Norham Drive and Bissonnet Street near Texas 6 in Houston's far south submarket. The tenant roster includes Plus Cleaners, Uncle Lee's Café and Mailbox Depot.