While acceding that Central Plaza traded on the high end, Linear president William Beckeman tells GlobeSt.com that the investment team felt a chance to anchor Wellesley's tightly controlled Downtown merits the sticker price. "We're thrilled," Beckeman says. "It is certainly one of the best retail locations in Greater Boston, if not New England."

Linear acquired the asset in an off-market deal arranged by NAI Hunneman Commercial Co. VP Jonathan Aron, whose Boston-based firm has negotiated six of the 40 acquisitions now made by the fund. Principal Enterprise Capital is a subsidiary of Principal Financial Group of Iowa.

Central Plaza is the fifth deal bought by Linear/Principal that Aron has been involved in, with the latest coming about after he identified the Wellesley properties at 74-102 Central St. as matching the fund's desire for a high-quality, core investment. "To me, this is the pre-eminent retail property in Wellesley Center," says Aron. The veteran retail broker set about putting the bid together and contacting the ownership through assistance from NAI Hunneman's management group, which operates the property, and will continue to under Linear's stewardship. Aron ultimately represented Linear in the transaction, which bought the center from Wellesley Realty Trust, an LLC operated by a family that held the buildings for 40 years.