Dixie Partners LP's newest purchase, Dickinson Plaza, came with a 28,000-sf vacant Arlen's Grocery Store and large-scale plans for the property's repositioning, Culver G. Stedman with the Houston office of Boyd Page Commercial Real Estate Services tells GlobeSt.com. He estimates the center needs about $1 million in upgrades.

Stedman says the seller of record, Dickinson Plaza Shopping Center Inc., is disposing of high-maintenance properties in the portfolio. The property was on the market for about a 1 1/2 years before it sold. Stedman says the slow economy combined with the fact that the seller wanted a reasonable price kept it on the market for longer than usual. He says four or five offers came in during the marketing period.

The grocer shuttered the store about two years ago while continuing to pay the rent. The lease expired right after the closing to take occupancy to 70%. Stedman says there are a few prospects in the works to fill the block of retail space. As for the rest of the roster, it's solidly in place. The existing base includes national tenants such as RadioShack, H&R Block, Eckerd Drug and Pizza Inn. Stedman, representing the seller, was the only broker involved in the deal.