The center was built in 1977 and is tenanted by 18 different retailers and service providers. Among its tenants are Dracut Town Variety, O'Hara's Tavern, China Maxim and Brother's Pizza as well as national/regional operators including H&R Block, Fleet Bank and Subway.

"We have very aggressive acquisition plans for this type of smaller, convenience-oriented retail property," says William J. Beckeman, president and CEO of Pivotal.

David Katz, vice president of R.K. Associates, notes that because his company was facing a "tax driven" deadline the transaction had to be completed very quickly. He says that the entire deal was done in about three weeks and emphasizes that "Pivotal's flexibility and institutional capital backing were vital."

Pivotal Properties, a Burlington, MA-based retail real estate acquisition and operating company, was formed about a month ago by Beckeman and Principal Enterprise Capital. The company wants to acquire and operate a large number of convenience-oriented retail properties in Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. Principal Enterprise Capital is the entity level investment platform for certain existing clients of Principal Global Investors, an institutional real estate manager based in Des Moines, IA. Principal Enterprise Capital has earmarked $100 million of equity capital for investment in Pivotal Properties and for acquisition of targeted retail properties.