Lane F. Guinn, principal with Houston-based JLM Commercial Advisors Inc., wouldn't elaborate on Notsuoh's plans for the site along Fairmont Parkway. The buyer representative did say, however, that the locally company had looked at other sites in addition to the one that it bought. "We acquired this site because of its strategic location to the Bayport Terminal," Guinn tells GlobeSt.com. He estimates 38 acres to 40 acres of the 49.3-acre tract is developable.

B. Kelley Parker III, executive vice president with Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. in Houston, says Nelson Duffie acquired the site a little more than a year ago from a European investor. The plan was to complete horizontal development, then carve it into chunks and resell it.

"As they were getting ready to break ground to develop smaller parcels to sell off, the user came along and wanted the whole site so we ended up selling it to them," says Parker, who teamed with C&W senior director John F. Littman and associate director Coe Parker on behalf of the Houston-based seller. These days, the cost of developed land in the area is about $3 per sf, he adds.

Parker points out that the land is ideally located, with frontage on Fairmont Parkway and Farrington. "This is a really neat piece of property because of its frontage and its location near the Bayport Terminal," he adds. "This deal made sense for both parties."