The 84%-leased center is located at 1113 Kingwood Dr. in the 15,000-acre, master-planned development of Kingwood. It is anchored by Sears and SteinMart.

The Miller entity invested 10% of the required equity capital. AEW Value Investors invested the balance of the acquisition capital. HSM Equity Partners Inc. will be the operating partner of the center, with the Houston brokerage office in charge of leasing and management. Bruce Jester and Johnnie Roberts, both in Henry S. Miller Commercial's Houston office, represented the firm in the transaction. Mark Witcher of Houston-based Weingarten Realty Investors represented the seller.

Terry Gwin, president of HSM Equity Partners, says his firm will continue to "look for product that makes sense." Gwin is bullish on Houston and sees it continuing to attract a lot of investment interest because of Texas' pro-business climate in general and the affordability of the city of Houston in particular. "We're creating jobs again," he says. With development costs rising, especially with concrete and steel prices, Gwin sees well-located centers such as Kingwood continuing to attract the eye of investors.