The firm moved into 8316 E. Freeway shortly after last summer's fire at 1919 Goodyear Dr. At that time, the cement supplier was toying with the idea of buying the East Freeway building, CA Rousser of the Rousser Co. in Houston tells GlobeSt.com. After leasing the three-acre asset for a few months, the company's execs decided to exercise the purchase option riding with the lease. They concluded the interim site--a 38-year-old, crane-served metal warehouse--had a great location, good setup and came at the right price with the right terms.

Rousser says about 30,000 sf will be leased to a third party. It should bring in a rent of about 35 cents per sf, he predicts. The new owner imports white cement from countries such as Egypt and Turkey.

Doyle Toups with the Houston office of Grubb & Ellis Co. represented the seller, Houston-based Western Financial Services Inc. He says the building was marketed at nearly $2 million. Although he can't talk about the selling price, he did say the final number was close to the ask. Harris County Appraisal District assessed the holding at $689,700 for the 2002 tax rolls. Toups says the seller bought the building about a year ago and immediately put it on the market for sale or lease.