Bill Lovejoy, CB Richard Ellis first vice president in Houston, tells GlobeSt.com that he contacted JPH Enterprises when he got the listing for the Conroe Shopping Center. The two have been cutting deals with each other since 1981. JPH Enterprises' response was to put the holding under contract before it could go on the market. The buyer owns at least 10 Houston properties, a mix of retail and industrial.

Lovejoy's timing was perfect. JPH Enterprises had been searching for a new investment, having just come off a ranch sale in Palm Springs. But, Lovejoy explains, the Houston purchase was not done in adjunct with a 1031 Exchange.

The shopping center delivered in phases, 1999 and 2000. Today, it is more than 95% occupied. Its anchors are Michael's Arts & Crafts and Hollywood Video. The tenant roster also includes Kwik Copy, General Nutrition, Quizno's and TGF Haircutters.

Lovejoy says the anchors' leases won't roll for about seven more years. The other tenants are locked into standard three- to five-year leases. Lovejoy confided the leases are well written with the tenants paying most of the expenses--a factor that helped push up the selling price a bit. A 63,000-sf Kroger is a shadow anchor.

Jim Adams of Houston-based Kinghorn Driver Hough & Co. arranged the financing. Deana Jones of American Title closed the transaction.

Lovejoy says Milestone's other "to go" properties also are retail and are located in Houston. Both, he discloses, are under contract.