Sean Ryan is associate editor for Real Estate New Jersey (For more retail coverage, click GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.)

PARLIN, NJ-Heritage Property Investment Trust has acquired the 235,995-sf Old Bridge Gateway Shopping Center here. The property sits at 1000 Highway 9, adjacent to both a Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Tenants at the complex include Bayshore Fitness, Blockbuster, Marshalls, Modell's, Petco and Sleepy's.

The seller and sale amount were undisclosed. "This well-located asset presented an appealing opportunity to a number of institutional and locally based investors," says Gary Gabriel, executive director of C&W's Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group, which arranged the sale. "The transaction illustrates continued demand for stabilized New Jersey retail properties as well as the general ongoing competition that has defined the New Jersey investment market during 2005," adds Andrew Merin, executive vice president of the group. Bidding for the property drew six finalists.

The Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group has been involved with 4.8 million sf of retail real estate over its history, collectively priced at $470 million. Overall, it has completed over $7 billion in transactions, including over $1 billion a year for the past three years.