TUCSON-Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust Inc., headquartered in Oak Brook, IL, continued adding to its portfolio with the acquisition of The Corner, an 80,155-square-foot shopping center that has Nordstrom Rack as its anchor. The Chicago-area REIT paid $29.5 million for the retail center, the third phase of the sprawling Oracle-Wetmore retail development.

The Corner is at the intersection of Wetmore and Oracle Roads. In addition to Nordstrom Rack, tenants include Total Wine, Sleep Number by Select Comfort, Sprint, Paradise Bakery and Five Guys Burgers and Fries. The project was developed by Bourn Cos. LLC, based in Tucson. The first two phases of Oracle-Wetmore were sold in 2007.

“This is a highly-visible shopping center in a densely populated area,” Mark Cosenza, vice president of Inland Real Estate Acquisitions Inc. said in a press release. Cosenza represented Inland Diversified in the acquisition. “The Corner’s unique mix of retailers and restaurants provides a strong draw to the more than 225,000 people living within five miles of the center,” he added.

“We are happy to do another deal in the southwestern United States,” added  Barry Lazarus, president and chief operating officer of Inland Diversified in the same press release. “We believe Arizona is a good place to do business. It is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and was ranked sixth in the nation for job growth in the last year by the Business Journals.”