Weingarten Adds 11 Centers

HOUSTON-Weingarten Realty Investors added 11 shopping centers and three industrial projects to its portfolio in a $402 million, fourth-quarter spending spree that increased the Houston firm’s portfolio by 1.9 million sf. Drew Alexander, Weingarten president and CEO, said the year’s total acquisitions, including those with joint venture partners, set a record at $1 billion. All the properties acquired in 2006 were in high-growth markets with high barriers to entry and were consistent with the firm’s long-term growth strategy, Alexander said.

The properties, which were acquired in six states, include the 215,000-sf retail center known as Charlton Commons in Las Vegas, the 328,000 sf Marketplace at Phillips in Orlando and industrial centers each totaling more than 200,000 sf in Arlington, TX and Tampa, FL. The company said $280 million of those $402 million in acquisitions were acquired through joint ventures, of which WRI owns 20%.