Classic Lighting Inc. has leased 22,535 sf at Sugar LandBusiness Park at 730 Industrial. The firm considered buying, butthen nipped the idea, Chris Caudill of Grubb & Ellis Co.'sHouston office tells GlobeSt.com. He represented Classic Lightingin the signing while Pat O'Connell and George Tickell, both ofO'Connell Realty in Houston, handled talks for building owner,South X SW HSO LP.

Caudill says Classic Lighting has grown incrementally since itslaunch in just 5,000 sf. Its last lease encompassed about 15,000sf. In fact, the freshly signed 22,535-sf spot may not hold thecompany for long, he says. Still, it's the submarket that ClassicLighting wanted–the southwest. "All of their employees live there,"he says.

Caudill, who specializes in the southwest part of town includingStafford and Sugar Land, says the area's industrial leasingdefinitely is slowing. But, he emphasizes, the slower pace startedlong before the "recession" became official and the events ofSept.11. He noticed signs of a slowdown as early as the secondquarter.