Inland Western will initially contribute up to $500 million of properties from its portfolio for the JV, such as the 148,806-sf Lincoln Park Shopping Center in Dallas, says Michael O'Hanlon. He is senior vice president and director of asset management of Inland Real Estate Investment Corp., sponsor of Inland Western. Inland Western purchased the shopping center in 2004 for $47.2 million, according to an Inland Western portfolio property list. The joint venture will also acquire up to $500 million in high-quality neighborhood retail centers and power centers and repositioning of retail centers with the investor providing 80% of the equity and Inland Western contributing the remaining 20%, O'Hanlon says.

The joint venture will focus on properties in California and Texas in the southwest as well as the southeast and Mid-Atlantic. "This is part of an asset management strategy that we are doing to basically expand upon our existing platform," he says. "It basically just enhances our portfolio and it enhances our institutional platform."

Inland has had a relationship before with Morgan Stanley, although this is the first partnership between Inland Western and Morgan Stanley, O'Hanlon says. "This partnership will enable our client to expand the retail component of their portfolio in to markets that are currently underweighted," John Kessler, chief operating officer for Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing and global head of core products, said in a released statement.