In late June, the Indianapolis-based REIT spent close to $6.8 million for a 43,500-sf retail building at 213 N. US Highway 67, with Ultimate Electronics in the anchor spot for the long term. The latest deal rolls the deed to a fully leased center at 330 N. J Elmer Weaver Freeway in Cedar Hill, boasting a national lineup of top-draw retailers like Barnes & Noble, Marshall's, Linens 'n Things, Office Max, Old Navy, Hobby Lobby and Ross Dress for Less. The four-year-old center's anchor leases are in place for the long term while the first generation of shop space will begin to roll in late 2005, says Jim Batjer with Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP in Dallas. He and HFF's Barry Brown represented the seller and developer, Frank Mihalopoulos of Dallas.

Mihalopoulous, a known long-term holder of his developments, put the class A package up for sale in late 2003. "He wanted to recycle the capital into new developments," Batjer tells GlobeSt.com. Kite was the top offer in a "best and final," which kicked off a long process for an assumption with a conduit lender and a loan with 7.5 years left on the term, he explains. The Ultimate Electronics building and some inline space, Cedar Hill Village, delivered in late 2003 and sold unencumbered so it closed earlier, he says.

"Typically when there are existing loans that people have to assume, investor interest is less than when it's unencumbered," Batjer says of marketing campaign for a no minimum-ask package of class A space that attracted just a dozen would-be buyers with institutional and private capital. The best and final went to only those investors interested in both retail centers. "But," he adds, "it was very competitive."

Kite is finishing out a quiet period for an IPO launched Aug. 11. As a result, its executives were unavailable for comment.