OAK BROOK, IL—Inland Real Estate Corporation, a publicly traded real estate investment trust that primarily owns and operates Midwestern retail centers, has just acquired Mokena Marketplace in Mokena, IL, an affluent suburb located about 30 miles southwest of Chicago, for $13.7 million in cash.

The trust had a strong run throughout the past year. As recently reported in GlobeSt.com, it executed 366 leases for 2,150,487-square-feet in 2013, an increase in square feet leased of 23.7% over the prior year. And according to its year-end financial reports, one highlight was a leased occupancy of 95.2%, an increase of 120 bps over 2012.

Among the bigger deals in 2013 was the acquisition of a partner's interest in 13 properties, increasing the size of its consolidated portfolio by 2.3-million-square-feet. The 11 properties in the Chicago area include the Orland Park Place, a 592,495-square-foot-center in Orland Park; Randall Square, a 216,485-square-foot-center in Geneva and the 207,452-square-foot Woodfield Commons-East/West in Schaumburg.

The Mokena Marketplace includes about 49,000-square-feet of retail space. Tenants occupy 76% of the space and include PetSmart, Party City, Sally Beauty, and Lee Nails, plus a free-standing Chase Bank on a ground lease and five developable outlots. A JC Penney shadow anchors the community shopping center and a new Meijer's grocery store will open nearby this summer.

“Mokena Marketplace is an attractive addition to our portfolio due to the center's solid tenant base of high-quality national retailers and strong position within a vibrant regional submarket of Chicago,” says Scott Carr, executive vice president and chief investment officer. “We are also excited about the opportunity to enhance the value of the property by leveraging our deep local market knowledge and retailer relationships to complete the lease-up of available in-line space and development of five adjacent outparcels.”