(Crystal Proenza is associate editor of Real Estate Florida.)

DELRAY BEACH, FL- Farmington Hills, MI-based Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust has contributed the 330,000-sf Plaza at Delray retail center to its joint venture with an investor advised by Chicago-based Heitman LLC. The total value of the property is just under $72 million.

This is the JV's ninth property acquisition, and the fifth asset Ramco-Gershenson has contributed, according to a spokeswoman for the REIT. The $450-million JV was announced last summer, when Ramco-Gershenson sold two of its shopping centers in Kissimmee and Lakeland to the entity. The JV portfolio currently encompasses two million sf with an aggregate purchase price of $353 million. Executives at the trust were not immediately available for comment this week.

"The Plaza at Delray is a very successful shopping center in a densely populated, affluent trade area," said Dennis Gershenson, president and CEO, in a press release. "This transaction allows us to maintain a 20% ownership interest in a very attractive center, pay off $43 million in permanent, company-level debt and generate approximately $23 million in net proceeds, which will be used to fund our previously announced business plan."