Chesterton arranges sale of two shopping centers.

Reflecting a trend toward investing in value-added property in recovering markets, Chesterton International, Inc. has arranged the sale of two shopping centers, in the Southeast and Midwest,

In both transactions, Chesterton represented the Church Commissioners for England through a United States subsidiary, notes Jay Brinkerhoff, president of Chesterton, a Manhattan-based real estate advisory firm.

One sale involved Sprayberry Square, on Sandy Plains Road in Marietta, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb. The 133,864-square-foot shopping center's major anchor store, Kroger's, is one of the highest volume stores in Atlanta.

Chesterton was asset manager for the center, and brokered the all-cash sale for over $10 million. The buyer was a fund managed by General Electric Realty Advisors, Inc., for a group of Japanese investors.

"This is an example of how sound, well-anchored properties remain attractive to a wide variety of buyers," says Mr. Brinkerhoff. "While the Atlanta retail market is undoubtedly over-stored, investors still see growth prospects if a property is well managed and marketed."

The other transaction was a $19 million leveraged sale of the Hinsdale Lake Commons shopping center at 6300 Robert Kingery Way in Willowbrook, Illinois. Chesterton and RDS & Associates were the brokers. The buyer, Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, United States by the Church Commissioners.