Bill Rudolf and Gray Gilbert, both of CB Richard Ellis Inc.'s Houston office, represented the seller of the 3 1/2-acre site near the intersection of FM 529 and US Highway 290. NCI Building Systems is the second-largest integrated manufacturer and marketer of metal building components and pre-engineered metal building systems in North America. The Houston-based company has its corporate headquarters at 10943 Sam Houston Parkway West, not far from the warehouses. But, Rudolf says, the site was sold simply because it was excess property.

Rudolf tells GlobeSt.com that the buildings, totaling 40,000 sf, were on the market for roughly four months at an asking price of more than $1.1 million. They generated several offers, with BAS Properties LLC scoring the win. William D. Swanson and Drew Lewis, both of the Houston office of NAI Partners Commercial, brokered the deal for the buyer.

The property is part of Houston's "big box" distribution corridor, an area where activity has been brisk for sales and construction. According to a CB Richard Ellis report, 1.8 million sf of spec space came to market just in the first quarter in the submarket. The NCI sale helps to validate conclusions by the report's authors, Billy Gold and Jeff Everist, that most of the "20-something-year-old" freestanding, single-tenant distribution buildings in the corridor will change hands this year. The favored properties, says the duo, have "peaked in value over the past five years."