BURLINGTON, MA-Boston-based Heritage Property Investment Trust picked up the 86,290-sf Burlington Square Shopping Center plaza from the Gutierrez Co. for $26 million. "We just thought it was a good asset," Bruce Anderson, director of acquisitions for Heritage, says. "The 15% GLA vacancy is very low, it's in close proximity to the Burlington Mall, and it's right in our back yard."

Burlington Square is adjacent to the Burlington Mall and sits on approximately seven acres. The property is 85% leased to 17 tenants and anchored by national retailers Staples, Eastern Mountain Sports and Tower Records. This is the fifth Massachusetts property acquired by Heritage, which also owns shopping centers in Pittsfield, Lynn, Leominster and Westfield. Heritage has a portfolio of 165 centers in 29 states totaling nearly 28 million sf.

The sale leaves Gutierrez with less than 180,000 sf of retail property in its leasing portfolio, which totals over 9.5 million sf in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. "The bulk of our portfolio is office and medical and retail is just a small portion," Ed Scioli, project manager at Gutierrez, tells GlobeSt.com. "We're not actively shopping [the retail properties], but that's not to say that we wouldn't listen if someone were to come to us with an offer."