The reason for the purchase of the property, Lane adds, was to accommodate the 24-Hour Fitness. "We do a lot of business with them. They already have a presence in the southern part of the area. They wanted to be north of I -10. We were scouting out sites for awhile and this one made sense."

Fein, in the meantime, sold the retail site to focus on its core business--multifamily development. "Fein is an apartment developer of long standing and with a good reputation," Cushing says. "They're not a retail operator."

Cushing says the Westlake property was the last of three retail assets to be sold from Fein's portfolio. "I think the retail component was a side adventure for them and not part of their business model," Cushing adds.

According to Cushing, the property also will provide an excellent investment for NewQuest in addition to providing a location with strong potential for 24-Hour Fitness. "The Fry Road corridor is having an explosion in residential development and has a very strong retail component," he says.

Cushing predicts that, in the hands of the new owner, Westlake should do quite well because of NewQuest's experience along with the growth of the West Houston area. "The thing languished for awhile, but I expect the outcome when all is said and done will be a great redevelopment and a vital shopping center that will be in demand," he says.