"Our investment in Southlake was a way to take out Cooper andStebbins' limited partners and expand the project," says Matt Tice,who negotiated the transaction for Inland.

Tice tells GSR that Inland Western's investment in SouthlakeTown Square is the first large-scale partnership it has enteredinto. "The comfort level that we have with Cooper and Stebbins iswhat led us to do partnership instead of the regular acquisition,"he says, noting that Inland has known the developer for more than15 years.

At total build-out, Southlake Town Square, which is located atNorth Carroll Avenue and East Southlake Boulevard, will consist ofmore than three million sf of office, retail, hotel and residentialspace. Originally opened in March 1999, the project currentlyconsists of 471,324 sf, in addition to a post office and a townhall that houses city and county offices and a municipal library.The existing space is 96% leased to tenants such as Crate &Barrel, William Sonoma, Pottery Barn and the Container Store, amongothers.