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SOUTHLAKE, TX-The Inland Real Estate Group of Cos. of Richardson has beaten out about 100 potential buyers for the two-year-old, 135,128-sf Southlake Corners shopping center. Inland acquired the asset from Irving-based Archon Group LP at an undisclosed price.

Area brokers familiar with the Southlake retail market tell GlobeSt.com the estimated closing price was in the $225-per-sf range, putting the estimated deal value at $30.4 million. Archon achieved its premium price after converting a vacant Wal-Mart retail building into a higher, revenue-generating shopping center, CB Richard Ellis senior vice president Doug Hazelbaker tells GlobeSt.com. He says more than 100 investors requested initial offering packages on the property. The center was 95% occupied at closing and the cap rate was in the 6.5% to 7% range, Hazelbaker says.

The deal was done at this time because "investors are aggressively looking at retail centers in all areas of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex," Hazelbaker explains. The record number of bidders gravitated to the property after Archon "did a great job in identifying this value enhancement opportunity," the broker says. The property's prime location at the southwest corner of Texas 114 and North Kimball Avenue also added to investor interest, Hazelbaker notes. Southlake's estimated population is 25,000, according to the city's Chamber of Commerce office.