Capital Auto spent $14 million on the purchase of a 14.8-acre, three-lot space at 6335 Perimeter Loop in Dublin, OH. Midwestern Auto Group, a Capital Auto client, currently leases the Franklin County site. The property--of which Brentlinger Enterprises transferred ownership to Brentlinger Real Estate Co. LLC in 1999 for under $1 million--holds two dealerships accounting for 11 predominantly luxury auto franchises.

County tax records assess the total value of the land for 2001 at $4.4 million. The showroom, office and surface areas account for about 41,500 sf of space. Capital Auto also made a $71.4 million package acquisition that covers 13 properties in the states of Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. The sites are home to 11 Don Massey Dealerships and Sonic Automotive dealerships. The REIT signed a letter of intent back in January to acquire the properties for $80 million from Sonic.

"These transactions add high quality assets to our portfolio and continue our strategy of developing long-term relationships with our existing tenants," company president and CEO Thomas D. Eckert says of the deals. "We remain very comfortable with our [positive] 2002 and 2003 estimates in light of our strong acquisition pace." As of February this year, Capital Auto's more than 270 properties were leased to full capacity by various franchises. Given its strategy and the market--there are approximately $50 billion in auto dealership properties across the US and Capital Auto only owns a small portion of that--more acquisitions are likely to be on the horizon.