Call it the ultimate sale at

Fayette's largest shopping center.

Earlier this month, almost

the entire Fayette Pavilion shopping center was sold to the Inland Retail

Real Estate Trust in Oakbrook, Ill., for $172 million.

That figure represents a sale

price of $123 a square foot. It is the largest land transaction in Fayette's

history and the largest commercial real estate transaction in the Atlanta

region so far this year.

The sale is the latest acquisition

"He develops really good

shopping centers that are good matches for our company," said Inland

communication spokesperson Rick Fox.

Other acquisitions of Thomas

property by Inland includes the Southlake Pavilion in Morrow; the Douglasville

Pavilion in Douglasville and the Newnan Pavilion in Newnan.

Fox said the company has been

in the real estate acquisition business for 35 years and said customers

should see no difference at the center.

"The tenants will see

some changes, such as we have our own company that cleans the parking

lots," Fox said.

The deal includes all the parcels

and leases at the Pavilion, with the exception of Target and Home Depot.

"Those two companies traditionally

own the land their stores are on," said Fox.

Fayette Pavilion now becomes

a part of Inland's Real Estate Investment Division, which means local

investors could purchase a share in the shopping center.

Fox added there are still a

couple of out-parcels at the site the could see some future development.

Inland is now the third largest owner of retail property in the Atlanta

region.

According to the website REIT101,

A REIT is a company that buys, develops, manages and sells real estate

assets.

REITs allow participants to

invest in a professionally-managed portfolio of real estate properties.

REITs qualify as pass-through entities, companies who are able distribute

the majority of income cash flows to investors without taxation at the

corporate level, providing that certain conditions are met). As pass-through

entities, whose main function is to pass profits on to investors, a REIT's

business activities are generally restricted to generation of property

rental income.

Another major advantage of

REIT investment is its liquidity, as compared to traditional private real

estate ownership, which are not very easy to liquidate, the website states.

The website also states the

origins of the real estate investment trust date