"Our investment in Southlake was a way to take out Cooper and Stebbins' limited partners and expand the project," says Matt Tice, who negotiated the transaction for Inland.

Tice tells GSR that Inland Western's investment in Southlake Town Square is the first large-scale partnership it has entered into. "The comfort level that we have with Cooper and Stebbins is what led us to do partnership instead of the regular acquisition," he says, noting that Inland has known the developer for more than 15 years.

At total build-out, Southlake Town Square, which is located at North Carroll Avenue and East Southlake Boulevard, will consist of more than three million sf of office, retail, hotel and residential space. Originally opened in March 1999, the project currently consists of 471,324 sf, in addition to a post office and a town hall that houses city and county offices and a municipal library. The existing space is 96% leased to tenants such as Crate & Barrel, William Sonoma, Pottery Barn and the Container Store, among others.