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CLEVELAND-Developers Diversified Realty is selling eight community retail centers to its joint venture with Macquarie DDR Trust, an Australian Listed Property Trust, for $287 million. The first phase of the transaction, for one center in Wisconsin and another in Tennessee, closed this week. The remaining properties will trade over the next two months. The pricing equates to a cap rate in the low-to-mid 7% range, according to DDR documents.Developers Diversified will retain a 14.5% ownership interest in the properties, remain responsible for all day-to-day operations of the properties and receive its share of ongoing fees for property management, leasing and construction management, plus nominal one-time fees for financing and due diligence. DDR also will receive base asset management fees and incentive fees based on the overall performance of MDT relative to the S&P/ASC 200.The first two centers, which total 391,500 sf, sold for $51.6 million, which equates to a cap rate of 7.4%. The Tennessee property, Cool Springs Pointe in the City of Brentwood, contains 201,414 sf and is anchored by Best Buy, Linens 'n Things, Ross Dress for Less, DSW Shoe Warehouse (opening September 2005) and Old Navy. The Wisconsin property, Shoppers World, is a 190,142-sf store anchored by a Mega Marshall's, Burlington Coast Factory, T.J. Maxx and OfficeMax.The other six community shopping centers will sell for a combined proposed price of $235 million, which would equate to a cap rate of 7.25%. The properties are located in Plainville, CT (Connecticut Commons, 566,537 sf); Brandon, FL (Brandon Village & McDonough Marketplace, 447,500 sf ); Brown Deer, WI (Market Place 410,088 sf); Parker, CO (Parker Pavilions, 97,256 sf); McDonough, GA (McDonough Marketplace, 30,500 sf); and Grandville, MI (Grandville Marketplace, 216,901 sf).When the transactions are complete, the MDT joint venture will own 35 community center assets across the US totaling over 14 million sf. On a pro forma basis, the MDT joint venture portfolio will represent nearly $2 billion in aggregate value.Developers Diversified is a publicly traded company that owns or manages approximately 470 operating and development retail properties in 44 states, plus Puerto Rico, comprising approximately 108 million sf. Macquarie DDR Trust is sponsored by Sydney-based Macquarie Bank Limited, an international investment bank and advisor and manager of specialized real estate funds in Australia.