ATLANTA-In a move to get more hands on with its shopping centersin the Southeast, Westwood Financial Corp. has opened a newmanagement office in Atlanta. The shopping center owner-operatorplans to double its Georgia portfolio over the next five years.

Westwood has been active in the Southeast—and is getting moreactive. In 2010 the firm closed on The Lynnwood Collection an86,662-square-foot shopping center anchored by Kroger Supermarketin Raleigh, as well as Main Street at Town Center, an113,615-square-foot neighborhood shopping center in front of theTown Center at Cobb Mall outside of Atlanta. Westwood is preparingto close on three additional Atlanta-area retail properties.

“We’ve bought several properties in the Southeast over the lastfive years and we’ve outsourced most of the leasing and some of themanagement, making day-to-day decisions out of our Dallas,” JoeDykstra, executive vice president at Westwood Financial, tellsGlobeSt.com. “Boots on the ground within the same geographic areais the optimum way to maximize cash flow and to manageproperties.”