"We were under contract very, very quickly at full price," LoriSchneider, senior director in the Florida office for Marcus &Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, tells GlobeSt.com. "Theywere proactive, straight-forward good dealmakers who wanted theproperties and knew how to execute." The all-cash deal went fullcircle within 60 days, with the play beginning at a 6.9% cap rateand projected to hit 7.35% at the end of 20-year lease terms. Andall leases carried a guarantee from the Plano, TX-based J.C.Penney.

The buyer's offer wasn't the only full price on the table, butSchneider says its fast-paced due diligence won the nod from amerchant builder, who was left holding the 84,383-sf package in2004 when the Eckerd chain was sold. "I had a serious buyer whoflew out here right away and looked at the properties, all within afew hours of receiving the information," she says. "I felt they hadqualified the properties before they went under a letter ofintent." Schneider teamed with Marcus & Millichap seniorassociate Sam Medford in Santa Fe and senior investment associateSanford Burstyn in Phoenix to negotiate for seller and buyeralike.

Schneider says Albuquerque and Denver were two new markets underdevelopment when Eckerd's was sold in 2004. The Albuquerquedeveloper, with home bases in Phoenix and Orlando, had managed tolease five of the six assets, held for three years and then put the12.81-acre package on the market in a take-one, take-all scenario."There was no ability to cherry pick and nobody wanted to," sheadds, citing the strength of the locations as the drawing power."Because it was a new foray into that market, they really did anteup for the best locations."