The center is anchored by retailers such as Michaels, Pier One,David's Bridal and a locally-owned movie theater. The property isabout 68% occupied, says Don Brenneman, ABR's acquisition officer."We had one large tenant leave recently," he tells GlobeSt.com. "Itwas a successful furniture store, a Furniture Row concept. They didso well that they moved to a location built specifically for themabout a mile away. That tells us that we have a strong retail nodehere. If we could get another furniture retailer here, that woulddo well." The venture will also perform some capital improvementsto the site, and the city is redoing the road and allowing a newmain sign.

This property is ABR's first investment in Iowa. "We've acquireda lot of stuff in the Midwest lately, such as industrial propertiesin Des Moines, IA and Indianapolis. We think there areopportunities in the Midwest, if you can underwrite themconservatively, there's still value there. We're just selective…thething we like about the Collins site is that the area is anestablished retail hub. It's also about a mile from (aerospace anddefense company) Rockwell Collins, which continues to grow and addjobs."