The new owner, BH Properties, will attempt to find a single userfor an 80,000-sf box once leased to Kmart. If that doesn't work,then the plan is to divvy the anchor space for multi-tenant use,Steve Bristol, senior investment adviser with Sperry Van Ness inOrem, UT, tells GlobeSt.com about a transaction that closed within30 days.

Bristol says the 5607 Uvalde Rd. property, though neverofficially listed on the market, sold for $200,000 less than theasking price. He says there was competition at the negotiatingtable, but he believes his client's offer for a quick close--withcash--was the decision-maker for the nine-year owner, Choice Groupin Houston. He says BH Properties will spend at least $1 million toready the asset for repositioning.

The center's decline started in 2001 when the locally basedWeiner's shuttered a 16,500-sf store. Two years later, Kmart wentdark. The center still has an 8,000-sf Family Dollar, 2,800-sfPayless Shoes and 4,727 sf filled by a local government office,hair salon and nail salon.