Ralph Tullier, vice president in Houston with Trammell Crow Co., says seller, Tamina Research, developed the class A center at 19189 Interstate 45 North with the intent to sell it after it was stabilized. Houston's Read King and Luther Properties make up the partnership, which paid off construction financing from a local bank with the sale.

The shopping center sold at a cap rate of less than 8.5%. It was on the market about four months and attracted eight offers, all from investors planning a long-term hold, according to Tullier. Buyer Castle Gardens Ltd. was the top bidder, he says.

The center's largest tenants are an 11,000-sf Party City store, 8,500-sf Fox & Hound restaurant and 3,000-sf Leslie's Pool store. Tullier tells GlobeSt.com that leases average seven years in length, with rents ranging from $20 per sf to $30 per sf. Huntington Properties of Houston leases and manages the holding.