An Atlanta real estate investor who targets low-risk and low-volume deals has found those features with Lake Lanier retail.Blue Ridge Capital purchased two retail strip centers totaling 46k SF off Lanier Islands Parkway in Buford from Colony Capital for $2.5M. And despite the properties being half vacant, Blue Ridge Capital's CEO Fritz McPhail says the properties don't have a lot of risk to them given the Lake Lanier area has little Class-A retail available--and what's there is fairly full. "We're pretty selective," Fritz says, adding Blue Ridge does not have an annual target acquisition amount. "Which may sound a little strange, but one of the things we learned over the years is the best deals you do are the ones you don't do."(Sounds like an invitation to rest up on the couch to us.)

The two properties include Friendship Village (above), a 23,750SF center with a Mexican restaurant and a recently-signed spa, and the Shoppes at Friendship (previous picture), a 23,450SF center with such tenants as Subway, Vinny's NY Pizza and an animal hospital. Blue Ridge targets at least a 20% ROI, and with rents approaching $15/SF in the Buford area, Fritz says this investment will soon achieve that. "We're in a fairly tight submarket," he says. "And when you're buying something at 20 to 30 cents on the dollar, the actual risk is very low."