Exemplified in the first-quarter purchase of nine shopping centers and another asset for $210 million, plus a 10-building warehouse portfolio consumed last month for $136 million, WRI is not averse to buying outright for its two favorite food groups, retail and industrial. During a financial conference call on Friday, management stressed that WRI covets existing opportunities in markets offering barriers to entry and solid demographics.

The problem is a lack of suitable real estate. Retail inventory was picked clean in 2006, says CFO Stephen Richter, and remaining properties either don't fit the core-profile embraced by WRI or lack sufficient yield, making construction the best path to returns. Some projects will be owned outright, others put in partnerships, while a third—and expanding— "bucket" is merchant building; methodically spinning projects off to investors and/or operators.Seventeen of the 32 initiatives under construction fit the merchant build mold, says SVP Robert Smith, who oversees WRI's development team.

Total investment there is $416 million, he estimates, underscoring a view that the program "will be a significant component" of WRI's financial success. Even as a blip in the first quarter results, merchant building income is expected to account for 13 to 18 cents per share in FFO this year, officials reiterated.