CLEVELAND—Devonshire REIT, Inc., an Ohio-basedreal estate investment trust, has just acquired PavilionShopping Center in suburban Beachwood for $35 million. AGiant Eagle grocery store anchors the249,873-square-foot center and Big Lots,Marshalls, Michael's andStein Mart act as sub-anchors. The purchase comeson the heels of Devonshire's $31 million purchase of five other centers in the Toledo area.

In the past few months, the retail sector started buzzing withsome excitement as it became apparent that the lingering effects ofthe recession were wearing off and consumer demand was back. Andeven though that has helped grocery-anchored centers become quitepopular with investors due to their ability to always draw incustomers, Devonshire officials say it's been their specialty.

"While the merits of grocery-anchored centers, and attractivesub-market returns, just now seem to be making the industry news,the acquisition and management of these types of properties arebuilt in to Devonshire's DNA,” says ChrisCampbell, chief executive officer of Devonshire REIT.“It's what we've done from the beginning, so we feel we aresignificantly ahead of the curve which gives us a competitive edgeon getting deals like this one, which adds over $1 million to ourcash flow after debt service, done."