Mark Weld, managing director for New York City-based ING'sBoston office, tells GlobeSt.com the price included the assumptionof approximately $20 million in debt on the asset. The seller, hesays, is a partnership consisting of a family trust that is notlocated in this area. James M. Koury of Boston-based Spaulding& Slye, a member of Jones Lang LaSalle Group, marketed theproperty and negotiated the transaction.

The class A retail center, at 290 S. Broadway off Route 28, wasbuilt in 1999. It is 100% leased long term by six tenants; amongthem are anchor Best Buy, Linens n' Things, CompUSA and Michaels.Weld says rent rates are in the low $20s per sf, triple net, andthe lease terms are "in the mid-teens with extension options, whichmakes this a very stable property for our client."

The location is just across the Massachusetts border, about 30miles north of Boston and accessible from I-95. "Salem hasestablished itself as one of the primary retail markets north ofBoson with a favorable tax structure, tenant mix and persuasivedemographics," Weld says. ING owns several Boston-area retailproperties in joint venture with Chicago-based General GrowthProperties. Among them is Natick Mall in Natick, MA, which iscurrently undergoing redevelopment and expansion up to 2.1 millionsf. "We are very pleased to add the Village Shoppes to ourportfolio," Weld says, adding, "We continue to look favorably onthe retail market here."