Buckingham Square, situated on 6.2 acres at 1455 W. BuckinghamRd., was 51% vacant at sale time, primarily due to a 32,113-sf boxformerly occupied by MJ Designs. The new owner was one of sixchasing the deal, locking it down in a 99-day start to finish withits location as one of its chief selling points, according toPhillip Levy of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Services. He andcolleague Blake Burnett were selling the 19-year-old center for itsdeveloper, Peek Properties of Richardson.

"We could end up owning this forever," John Bessey, vicepresident of acquisitions for Phillips Edison, tells GlobeSt.com."It has the opportunity to be a class A center. It's tired. Itneeds reinvigorating."

Bessey says about two months will go into planning the overhaulof the class C center, with construction completion penciled forsecond quarter 2008. The plan will hold true to the company's MO."We re-skin, re-tenant, re-merchandise and reposition," he says."This is an unstable property. The typical turnaround time tostabilize a property is three years." The renovation cost is stillbeing tabulated, but Bessey says "it will be substantial."