HOUSTON-Whitestone REIT has made its first acquisition outsideGreater Houston, paying $8.3 million for the five-building PimaNorte in Carefree, AZ. The buyer, earmarking $2 million for tenantimprovements and interiors, is planning to buy more in Arizona andelsewhere outside its homeport.

The REIT has bought Pima Norte at 36600 N. Pima Rd. from anoffice condo developer from Phoenix. “Right around the time theyfinished, the market died so they were willing to sell thebuildings to us,” James Mastandrea, chairman and CEO of WhitestoneREIT, tells GlobeSt.com. Whitestone's plan is to lease theestimated 50,000 sf rather than sell it.

Mastandrea says Pima Norte is slightly different from what'scurrently in Whitestone's portfolio because it's new. But, there isupside in the five-acre project. “The beauty of a portfolio likethis is we can finish up the interior, lease it up and add valuethat way,” he says. The quoted rates are $25 per sf to $35 per sf,triple net.