ROCKAWAY, NJ-Hampshire Cos. has purchased a development site of just under six acres on which an 80,000-sf single-tenant retail building is currently under construction. The Morristown, NJ-based private real estate funds manager bought the tract on behalf of its Hampshire Partners Fund VI. The sale price was $9 million; the identity of the seller was not disclosed.

The under-construction retail building is entirely pre-leased to a national specialty retailer, which a spokesman for Hampshire declined to identify. "The sign will be up later this year, and the store will open in the first quarter of 2006," the spokesman tells GlobeSt.com.

"The property is situated adjacent to the Rockaway Townsquare Mall, which is a signature retail location in northwest New Jersey," says Norman A. Feinstein, executive vice president of Hampshire Cos. He adds that a long-term lease is in place with a high-credit tenant.

Hampshire Partners Fund VI is a commingled, discretionary value-added real estate investment fund, the sixth to be closed by Hampshire. It completed its capitalization in late 2004, raising $235 million from 15 investors, including endowments, foundations, insurance companies and public and private pension funds.

"The investment focus is on industrial, retail and suburban office product located in the growth corridors of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states," Feinstein says. "The fund remains active in seeking additional acquisitions throughout its targeted markets."