HOUSTON-In an ongoing effort to streamline its retail portfolio, NewPlan Excel Realty Trust has sold the 45,873-sf Fondren Shopping Center for slightly less than the $5.49-million ask.

The 7205-7307 Bissonnet St. property was on the market 90 days. "We had several bids on it," says George Cushing, senior vice president with the local office of Grubb & Ellis Co. He teamed with colleague Paula Foster to represent the New York City-based NewPlan in the disposition. The buyer is an entity of Silvestri Investments in Houston, which used in-house brokers to close the deal.

"Silvestri is a known buyer to us. We were confident that he'd perform," Cushing tells GlobeSt.com. "He also didn't have a financing contingency and had the capacity to close for cash."

Situated on 4.3 acres, the 1971-built Fondren Shopping Center 94% leased when the deal closed, with just 2,676 sf open in two spots. A 20,000-sf La Canasta Furnishings anchors the holding, secured by a lease that runs into 2010, according to Cushing. The deal also includes a ground lease through October 2019 with the Woonsocket, RI-based CVS Corp. for a freestanding drug store, he adds.

Fondren Shopping Center is the Grubb & Ellis team's seventh sale for NewPlan in the past 48 months. As of press time, the brokers getting ready to bring to market another one: the 74,329-sf, 88%-occupied Long Point Square at 8114 Long Point Rd. in Houston. "This activity is an ongoing plan of NewPlan's to cycle off properties that don't fit with their particular ongoing property model," Cushing explains.