The store is situated at the northeast corner of Fairmont Parkway and Sam Houston Parkway. The buyer, seeking a long-term investment, was represented by Steve Houghland of Access Realty Advisors.

Aaron Thielhorn, a Trammell Crow associate in the investment sales division, tells GlobeSt.com that the property is part of a three-phase retail project that got under way in 1999. The Kohl's store is part of the third phase along with a Super Target and 50,000 sf of multi-tenant retail.

Fairway Plaza, the 170,000-sf first phase, is a power center situated right across the street from the shopping center. The second phase, Fairway Marketplace, is a 215,000-sf retail center abutting phase one. Phases one and two were sold to the same buyer in 1999 and 2001.

Alan Hassenflu, Trammell Crow's senior managing director in Houston, said in a prepared statement that "demand for investment-grade, single-tenant, net-leased retail properties is very strong, primarily among the tax-deferred, 1031 exchange market." The listing, he says, "generated dozens of offers."

Thielhorn says the deal packed the right formula: a long-term lease with a credit tenant and wary stock market investors looking for a safe haven in real estate to stimulate the tremendous interest in the property. The Trammell Crow team representing the seller included principal Rusty Tamlyn, associate Ralph Tullier and Thielhorn.