ROCHESTER, NY-Broadstone Net Lease, a private REIT, has closed on 21 net lease properties for a combined $38.8 million. The investments, spread out over a period of months, is a timely move by the REIT as many are located in the Midwest—an underinvested part of the country for this type of asset, according to a GlobeSt.com column written earlier this month by Calkain Cos.' CEO Jonathan Hipp.

In October BNL acquired a medical office building in Lewisville, Texas via a sale and lease back transaction with My Dentist Holdings, LLC on an absolute net basis for 14 years. MyDentist Holdings is a staple in the REIT's portfolio-at the start of 2012 it acquired five 100%-leased My Dentist dental clinics in Oklahoma. In October BNL also acquired 11 Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants throughout Chicago in a sale and lease back transaction. All of the sites are master leased on an absolute net basis for 14 years.

In September BNL acquired a medical office building located in Greensboro, NC, via a sale and lease back transaction. The property is leased to Southeastern Eye Center for an initial lease term of 15 years. In July the REIT acquired six Wendy's restaurants located throughout West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The acquisition was completed via a sale and lease back transaction and the term of the initial lease runs for 20 years.

Finally, in June BNL acquired two industrial buildings totaling 132,866 square feet located in Ohio via a sale and lease back transaction. The properties are leased to Enginetics Aerospace for an initial lease term of 17 years.

In his post, Hipp noted that The Midwest market has been largely ignored by the triple net leased investor pool for various reasons, starting with a lack of professionals focused on the area and the perennial emphasis on such cities as New York and Washington DC. "However, as the macroeconomic outlook is improving in primary markets and inventory of prime assets still low, the Midwest is now seeing an uptick in investment grade credit tenants seeking new markets that have the demographics to support expansion," he wrote earlier this month. "This in turn, has led to greater investor interest in the area."