A real estate investment trust's off-market purchase of a high-profile shopping center in Dallas near Southern Methodist University comes at a time when "investors can't get enough of these properties," the broker marketing the site told CoStar News.

New York-based Curbline Properties bought Mockingbird Central, a more than 81,000-square-foot retail center at 5400 E. Mockingbird Lane just north of downtown Dallas, for $41.9 million. David Disney, founder and principal of Dallas-based Disney Investment Group, represented the seller in the deal that equates to about $514 per square foot.

Disney said he's seen an influx of investors interested in purchasing "internet-resistant" properties like Mockingbird Central, which was built in the mid-1980s without space for an anchor tenant like a grocery store. Instead, it has smaller retail tenants where shoppers can park and get in and out quickly.

The property was 98% leased at the time of the sale with tenants such as Whole Earth Provision, Jason’s Deli and Mattress Firm.

Curbline became publicly traded last year with a focus on acquiring convenience retail properties. At the time of its initial public offering, Curbline President and CEO David Lukes told investors the REIT planned to focus "exclusively on convenience properties located on the curbline in the wealthiest submarkets in the United States."

Mockingbird Central in Dallas fits the bill since it is located blocks from Highland Park and University Park, two suburbs that often top the lists of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country.

In July, Curbline added more than 600,000 square feet of retail space to its portfolio in seven deals totaling nearly $260.4 million, the firm said in a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Mockingbird Central was the largest single property the REIT bought during the month.

Curbline also invested in retail properties located in Houston, Las Vegas, Indianapolis, San Francisco and Seattle during the quarter.

Prior to being bought by Curbline, Mockingbird Central completed a lease to Chipotle for the vacant restaurant space on the east side of the property, and the eatery is expected to open next year.

Mockingbird Central's previous owner bought the property in March 2021 and "in four years was able to move the needle on rents at the center," Disney told CoStar News. Disney thinks rents can still be increased on what he called an irreplaceable property adjacent to Mockingbird Station, a mixed-use development anchored by a DART Light Rail Station.

"It's hard to build this type of space and deliver it today," Disney said. "The fundamentals are strong, and it's easier for investors chasing income-producing properties to push rents on legacy properties."

For the record

Disney and his colleague Adam Crockett represented the Dallas-based seller, Corsair Property Co., in the off-market deal to Curbline Properties.