"The center is home to a strong rent roll and is situated in oneof New England's most desirable markets for both retailers andowners," says Cushman & Wakefield senior director GeoffMillerd, a member of the firm's Capital Markets Group that peddledthe asset on behalf of Durgin Square LP and also procured thebuyer. Millerd was joined in handling the deal by C&W CapitalMarkets Group chief Robert Griffin Jr. and broker Michaeld'Hemecourt.

A retail sales specialist, Millerd describes Durgin Square as"the dominant grocery-anchored shopping center" in Portsmouth'svibrant retail market, a sector that has been evolving for 20 yearsnear the border of mall-laden Newington. National firms who helpedgive Durgin Square an occupancy rate of 97% at the time of its saleinclude AC Moore, Aspen Dental, Boston Market, MattressDiscounters, Petco and TJ Maxx.

Situated on a 16-acre parcel, Durgin Square has access fromthree light-controlled intersections on Woodbury Avenue, a mainthoroughfare that generates daily traffic exceeding 25,000vehicles. The asset also abuts the Spaulding Turnpike, which has anaverage daily count of 62,000 vehicles and provides access toInterstate 95, connecting shoppers from Maine on the other side ofthe Piscataqua River.