(Ian Ritter is national online editor for GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.)

CLEVELAND-TIAA-CREF has entered into the $3-billion joint venture with Developers Diversified Realty to acquire a portfolio of 67 community centers. The assets are part of the 307-center Inland Retail Real Estate Trust portfolio that DDR is acquiring for $6.2 billion.

TIAA will contribute 85% of the equity toward the deal, with locally based DDR picking up the remainder. The firms aren't planning on leverage exceeding 60% of the value of the properties. Most of the assets being picked up in the joint venture are in the Southeast.

"We have been looking to strategically increase our retail exposure, and we believe this purchase represents a unique opportunity to do so while focusing on opportunities for attractive rates of return for our investors," says Tom Garbutt managing director and head of New York City-based TIAA-CREF's Global Real Estate unit, in a statement.