TUCSON-In an effort to expand its Arizona presence, Weingarten Realty Investors has acquired six retail centers totaling 780,000 sf. The $165-million purchase marks Weingarten’s first move into the Tucson area.According to David Doupe, managing director with Jones Lang LaSalle’s capital markets group, Weingarten beat out other contenders from the six-month marketing period because of its price. “They’re making a heavy push to expand further into the Southwest and they already have a base of operations in Phoenix,” says Doupe, who represented the local seller, Bourn Partners LLC. The portfolio’s average occupancy is 88%.

“Everybody respects her,” an old friend once explained when I asked about his real estate agent. “She’s a top producer.”

Looking back, I’m sure my friend had no idea what he was talking about — he’d never bought a house and had little interest in the real estate racket, but that didn’t matter. He’d bagged a “top producer” as an agent. How could I not be impressed?