Museum District Sale
Houston based Alan Parker Properties, L. P. has represented Stanley Leventhal, Et Al, Ltd in the sale of a 4,725 sf office building on 5,550 sf in the Museum District at 4909 Main. The building consists of 3,300 sf of office, 575 sf of warehouse and 850 sf of mezzanine space.
The buyer was Alice Hiniker Sharma Marital Trust and they were represented by Angela Villagomez with City Life Brokers of Houston
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Land Sale on Greens Road
TIOBI, LLC has purchased a 6.5-acre land tract located in north Houston at 1813 Greens Road.
Glynn Mireles of CB Richard Ellis represented TIOBI in the transaction. Rives Noland of Insight Commercial Real Estate represented the seller, CarGreen Acres, LP.
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NASA Banks LEED Gold
HOUSTON – Marking its third such honor, NASA's Johnson Space Center has scooped up another LEED Gold certification for a building on its campus.
The honor goes to Building 265, a recently refurbished, 5,400-sf office building. A large portion of the building material was sourced and manufactured within 500 miles of the campus. The campus was developed in 1962. Several buildings have been ticketed for upgrades to achieve energy and space efficiencies.
"This type of responsible and sustainable construction has a positive impact on the community and the environment plus a positive impact on our employees," said Joel Walker, director of center operations at JSC. "We strive to be leaders, both in the federal government and globally, when it comes to green building implementation and construction."
The campus' human resources building is being renovated, with NASA reaching for Platinum certification. Previously, the astronaut quarantine facility and a logistics storage building were given LEED Gold nods by the U.S. Green Building Council.
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Sale Announced in Park Ten
Parkway Properties, Inc. sold its One Park Ten office property in Houston. One Park Ten is a 163,000 sf property built in 1982 and is 94 percent occupied. The gross sales price was $15.7 million and represents a capitalization rate of approximately 10.35% based on in place cash net operating income. Parkway received net cash proceeds from the sale of approximately $4.8 million, which were used to reduce amounts outstanding under the Company's line of credit. The $8.7 million first mortgage was assumed by the buyer, and Parkway is also providing a $1.5 million seller financing loan, which bears interest at 7.25% with interest-only payments maturing on June 1, 2012. The Company will recognize a gain on the sale of approximately $8.6 million in the second quarter of 2010.
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M&M Announces Two Deals
CINCO RANCH - Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services announced the sale of Cinco Ranch Shopping Center, a 6,629 sf retail property located in Houston, according to Brent Smith, Regional Manager of the firm’s Houston office. The asset had a list price of $1,438,000.
James H. Bell, VP/Investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Houston office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a limited partnership.
Cinco Ranch Shopping Center is located at 6848 Mason Road. The property was built in 2006 and sits on 31,601 sf of land.
EL CAMPO – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services announced the sale of Walmart El Campo Shopping Center, a 8,499 sf retail property located in El Campo, TX, according to Brent Smith, Regional Manager of the firm’s Houston office. The asset had a list price of $1,100,000 and was 100 percent leased at close of escrow.
Francois D. Le and Todd A. Carlson, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap’s Houston office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a local developer. The buyer, a Texas partnership, was secured by Francois D. Le and Todd A. Carlson and the deal closed in approximately 35 days.
Walmart El Campo Shopping Center is located at 3415 West Loop Street. The property was built in 2005 and sits on .97 acres.
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Louetta Retail Sale
George Cushing, and Wendy Vandeventer of Grubb & Ellis represented Louetta Central L.P. in the sale of Louetta Central, a 180,000-sf retail center in the Far North submarket. The buyer, RCG Ventures of Atlanta, represented itself in the transaction.
“Louetta Central is a high-end retail center with an exceptional tenant profile of nationally recognized retailers,” said Cushing. “Equally attractive, the property has an excellent site configuration and is well-located off a major interstate.” The property is situated at the southeast corner of Interstate 45 and Louetta Road.
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Tomball Land Sold
Creamcom Inc. purchased 3.53 acres within Tomball South Business Park.
Creacom, Inc. is a cable contracting company that provides electrical and communication services to businesses. The site will be used for Creacom’s local operations. Tomball South Business Park is located in at Hufsmith-Kohrville and Holderrieth Roads.
The purchaser, KTC Holdings, L.L.C., was represented by Janet Lucy of Carswell Real Estate, and the seller, 2978 Industrial Properties, L.L.C was represented by David Butler of Colliers International.
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Houston's LoDo: In the Path of Downtown Houston's
Next High-Rise Growth Spurt
HOUSTON -- LoDo, the provisional name for Houston’s largest emerging downtown land assemblage, has the potential to generate over $1 billion in rising real estate values and new high-rise construction over the next decade, according to Lewis Realty Advisors.
The various owners of the massive assemblage of 12 blocks of land in the southwestern sector of downtown Houston have created an alliance to explore the potential for the property and prepare for its emergence as a growth corridor.
The assemblage alliance in LoDo, or Lower Downtown, includes the 12 blocks bounded by the Pierce Elevated, Smith, Clay and Fannin.
“These blocks have an excellent location and will likely become the epicenter for new downtown growth over the next decade or two,” said Kim Kobriger, managing partner of Houston-based Lewis Realty Advisors. “Right now, these parcels are used mostly for parking and other minor uses and have not reached their full potential.”
Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron and Continental Airlines all have significant offices near the LoDo area and the district is an ideal location for high-rise office, residential, retail or hotel development in the future, Kobriger said.
“Property values in the LoDo area will rise significantly in the years to come as these parcels are improved,” said Kobriger, a property evaluator and real estate investment counselor. “After the economy rebounds and growth moves forward again, we could see $1 billion in additional property value created in LoDo over the next decade.”
Large scale urban land assemblages have given birth to significant mixed-use projects in other cities with new developments that have served the local populace as well as becoming destination magnets for tourists.
Lewis Realty Advisors has been involved in a number of major assemblages and multi-block property acquisitions in downtown Houston over the years, including the assemblage of the land that is now known as the Houston Center office complex.
“Land assemblages of this magnitude have been the foundation of Houston’s great downtown office developments and dense mixed-use projects, including Houston Center,” Kobriger said. “LoDo is poised to be the site of Houston’s next great downtown commercial district.”
Kobriger recently presented remarks to the Inaugural Luncheon Meeting of the LoDo organization group, an association called CBD Vision.
Houston-based Lewis Realty Advisors has been providing real property appraisal, consulting and commercial development services for almost 50 years. www.LewisRealty.com
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Bank Building Purchased
PMC Houston Retail Operating, LLC has sold a 4,297 sf building, which is located at 3904 Richmond Avenue in Greenway Commons Shopping Center. The retail bank building is fully-leased by Bank of America and is situated in the Inner Loop River Oaks retail submarket. Ryan West of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller in the transaction.
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Westheimer Building Sold
Colliers International reports1740 Pursuit, LLC has purchased a 15,000 sf building at 1740 Westheimer. The seller was NPN 2702 Westheimer. Jay Kyle and Robert S. Parsley of Colliers International represented the purchaser in the transaction. The new owner, Geophysical Pursuit, will occupy the top two floors. The ground floor office/retail space (5,100 sf) is currently being offered for lease by Colliers International.
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Exxon Mobil's New Corporate Campus
Exxon Mobil is examining large parcels of land north of Houston for a large-scale corporate campus. The energy giant is reportedly considering relocating a number of employees from Fairfax, Va. and Dallas. Employees from Exxon Mobil offices around the Houston area would be consolidated into the new facility.
The company has made no substantive comment about the land deal. For more detail:
http://www.culturemap.com/newsdetail/12-14-09-will-exxon-snub-houston-again.
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Industrial Land Sold
LKQ Automotive Corp. purchased 41 acres of industrial land at 12575 Hiram Clarke Road in Houston.
B. Kelley Parker, III, ; John F. Littman, and Coe Parker of Cushman & Wakefield represented the buyer in the negotiations. Jearald Dyer of Grubb & Ellis represented the seller, Insurance Auto Auctions..
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Property Tax Valuations Rise
63 Percent for Houston's Major Office Towers
The property tax valuations of Houston’s tallest office buildings have skyrocketed 63 percent since 2005, according to the Lewis Realty Advisors Houston Tall Tower Survey.
The Lewis Realty Advisors Houston Tall Tower Survey shows the tax burden on the owners of the city’s largest buildings has increased sharply despite a recent downturn in the market.
“The taxes on Houston’s tallest office buildings have escalated sharply in recently years. Last year there was some easing, but it does not offset the huge jumps in property tax valuation that occurred earlier in the decade,” said Kim Kobriger, managing partner of Houston-based Lewis Realty Advisors.
The Lewis Realty Advisors survey was based on valuations placed on the city’s tallest skyscrapers by the Harris County Appraisal District. The HCAD valuations are used for calculating property taxes.
The Lewis survey of tall buildings showed that HCAD valuations dropped 6.7 percent from 2008 to 2009.
“The falling property values last year certainly reflect the realities of today’s marketplace,” Kobriger said. “Office building prices have declined as rents have softened, vacancies have increased, and the scarcity of financing to make these investments has driven down the price for these landmark buildings.”
After hitting their high in 2008 and declining slightly in 2009, the HCAD valuations should decline again in 2010, Kobriger predicted. “The commercial real estate market has not bottomed out yet and we expect that to be reflected in further declines when HCAD places values on these properties this year,” Kobriger said.
The declining property values will place increasing financial pressure on governmental entities as their revenue from taxes receipts falls, he said.
“The school districts, county and city governments that depend on tax revenue for their operating funds will be facing belt-tightening and hard budgetary decisions as tax revenue falls,” Kobriger said.
The Lewis Realty Advisors Houston Tall Tower Survey included buildings in downtown Houston shows sharp increases in property valuations every year until 2009.
Lewis Realty Advisors handles commercial appraisals, real estate tax consulting, real estate tax planning, bankruptcy, and eminent domain cases for private property owners and governmental entities. Company founder David M. Lewis was a founding board member for the Harris County Appraisal District.
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Spring Office Building Purchased
Grubb & Ellis announced that it represented Coventry Fund VI Ltd. in its purchase of Cypresswood Place, a 48,000-sf office building in the Houston suburb of Spring, from JWAK Properties Ltd.
Beth Young and Henry Hagendorf represented Coventry Fund VI in the transaction. Brenda Pennington of Pennington Commercial Real Estate Inc. represented the seller.
Located at 6605 Cypresswood Drive , in the FM 1960 submarket, the property is situated on 2.4 acres. Cypresswood Place is 95 percent leased to a variety of tenants, including Alamo Title Co., State Farm Insurance, Pivot3, Spring Insurance Co. and EPS Software.
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Sold: Times Square Plaza
KATY, Texas – Grace Business Holdings LLC of Sugar Land, Texas, has acquired Times Square Plaza, a four-year-old center with 12,576 sf that's fully leased to four tenants. The asset was listed at $3.5 million.
Todd A. Carlson, senior associate in Houston for Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, marketed the holding for its Houston-based seller, CJS Group LLC. The retail center sits on 1.6 acres along at 400 W. Grand Parkway, just south of Interstate 10. The tenant roster includes Charming Charlie's.
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Houston's Prosperity Bank
Wins Three US Bank Sites
HOUSTON – Locally based Prosperity Bancshares Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire three US Bank sites in Texas. The deal is slated to close before the first quarter ends.
In a press release, Prosperity Bancshares said it will pay a premium for the $420 million of deposits, loans and other assets. Scheduled to change hands is Madisonville State Bank in Madisonville, Citizens National Bank in Teague and the North Houston Bank, all acquired Oct. 30, 2009, from the FDIC.
"With the addition of these three locations, Prosperity will operate 161 full service banking centers in Texas," said David Zalman, CEO and chairman of Prosperity Bancshares. "We look forward to servicing the Texas customers of U.S. Bank." The portfolio's largest concentration is its homeport, where there are 51 Prosperity Banks.
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Weingarten Marks 2nd New Mexico Sale
HOUSTON – Weingarten Realty Investors has sold an 84,322-sf power center in Albuquerque's West Mesa area to North American Development Group, marking its second sale in recent months of a New Mexico property.
Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP's senior managing directors Doug Hazelbaker and Jim Batjer and managing director Ryan Shore sold the Plaza at Cottonwood at the intersection of Coors Bypass NW and Seven Bar Loop Road for Houston-based Weingarten as they did DeVargas Center, a 249,671-sf mall that sold last November in Santa Fe to Fidelis Realty Partners Ltd.
The Plaza at Cottonwood, completed in 1999, is fully leased. The tenant roster includes Staples, PetSmart, Party City, Avenue and Men's Warehouse.
"The Plaza at Cottonwood was well-received by the investment community and specifically addressed the investment strategy of the buyer," Hazelbaker said. "North American Development Group has a high-quality team that reacted quickly and performed well." The Markham, Ontario-based buyer also has retail properties in Texas, California, Colorado and Florida.
Houston-based Fidelis is holding the reins to the 95 percent-leased DeVargas Center along St. Francis Street, less than one mile northwest of downtown Santa Fe. Its roster includes Sunflower Farmers Market, Office Depot, Ross Dress for Less, Hastings and CVS/Pharmacy.
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Cushman & Wakefield Sale
Cushman and Wakefield of Texas Inc.’s Houston office negotiated th sale of a 114,702 sf building on 5.618 acres at 10600 Shadowood Drive.
David L. Cook, Jeff G. Peden and Graham D. Horton of this Cushman and Wakefield represented the seller, the National Envelope Corp., in the negotiations. Billy Gold of CB Richard Ellis represented the buyer, LLC & J LP.
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Circuit City Site Sold
Houston-based Roberts Carpets and Fine Floors has purchased a 23,236 sf building at 20465 Highway 59, in Humble, Texas. The building previously served as a Circuit City location and is situated on approximately 2.25 acres. Matt Keener of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller, CC Acquisitions, LP, in the transaction. Mike Frankoff of Center Real Estate Group represented the buyer.
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UH Buys Hotel
VICTORIA, Texas -- The University of Houston purchased a 226-room Howard Johnson Hotel in Victoria.. Bert Stevens of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller.
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Exxon Mobil's New Corporate Campus
Exxon Mobil is examining large parcels of land north of Houston for a large-scale corporate campus. The energy giant is reportedly considering relocating a number of employees from Fairfax, Va. and Dallas. Employees from Exxon Mobil offices around the Houston area would be consolidated into the new facility.
The company has made no substantive comment about the land deal. For more detail:
http://www.culturemap.com/newsdetail/12-14-09-will-exxon-snub-houston-again.
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Northwest One Building Sold
Transwestern’s Houston headquarters announced the sale of Northwest One to FN Northwest One, LLC. Rudy Hubbard and Leah Gallagher of Transwestern negotiated the sale.
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Northwest One is a 126,802 sfoffice building located on Highway 290 in the Northwest Houston office corridor. The building was 44 percent occupied at the time of sale, which provided an excellent large tenant leasing opportunity. Approximately $1 million has been spent on building upgrades and amenities in the past five years.
Rick Fausset of FN Northwest One, LLC stated, “We are very excited about our first Houston office building acquisition since 1997. We believe there is a window of opportunity over the next two to three years to acquire properties at discounts similar to those we experienced between 1995 and 1997. We look forward to the opportunity to work with the same individuals at Transwestern who significantly contributed to our success in Houston between 1995 and 2000.”
“Getting Northwest One closed says a lot about investor’s confidence in Houston despite the malaise of the commercial real estate market nationally,” Hubbard said
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FEATURED PROPERTY
Bayport Manufacturing Facility For Sale
Colliers International has just been awarded one of the largest industrial listings of 2009 in the Houston Port area. The property, a former plastics manufacturing facility, is located at 9802 Fairmont Parkway, in Pasadena, Texas. The 150 acre site is accessed by Underwood Road and served by the Union Pacific Railroad. While the manufacturing equipment has been removed, key remaining property improvements include over 45,000 sf of buildings, over 7,000 lineal feet of rail, access roads and parking areas . Colliers principals Gary A. Mabray and Michael J. Taetz, along with Brad Beauchamp have been selected to facilitate a timely disposition for the corporate owner.
This 150-acre property represents a significant redevelopment opportunity for users or developers. The extensive infrastructure includes water, sewer, fire loop system, detention pond, over 7,000 lineal feet of rail, and the ability to be served with transmission power. This infrastructure translates into tangible and immediate benefits to a potential purchaser, offering measurable savings in both time and money.
Bayport Industrial District, one of the prominent industrial addresses in the Greater Houston market, is home to over seventy chemical and plastic manufacturing firms from around the globe. These companies benefit from the synergy created by the significant concentration of related industries in one location, the Bayport deed restricted environment, and the unique waste water treatment system provided through Gulf Coast Waste Disposal and an extensive feedstock pipeline network. Additionally Bayport offers both tax abatements and incentives for qualified new development and investment.
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Grubb & Ellis Houston Deals
Grubb & Ellis Co. announced that its Houston office recently completed the following transactions:
One Todd VHJT LLC purchased 2.2 acres of land, located at 11505 Todd St., from Herbert E. Koenig. Jearald Dyer of Grubb & Ellis represented the seller in the transaction. J. Kent Willis of Newmark Knight Frank represented the buyer.
OCB Properties purchased 23.3 acres of land, located on E. Anderson St., from Robert L. McDonald and Jean G. Slay. Logan Brown and Chris Wadley of Grubb & Ellis represented the seller in the transaction. Tom Alexander of Texas Land represented the buyer.
VNR Brock Inc. purchased 1964 Northpark, a 3,300-sf retail building, from Waste Management of Texas. Bill Burge and Mark Lehman of Grubb & Ellis represented the seller in the transaction. VNR Brock Inc. represented itself.
3659 NR-1 LLC purchased Seagate Village Shopping Center, a 13,315-sf retail building located at 3659 Nasa Road 1, from Greenpoint Mortgage Funding. Keith Lloyd, Gus Lagos and Tony Ricci of Grubb & Ellis represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer, 3659 NR-1 LLC, represented itself.
Ser Ninos Inc. purchased 1.9 acres of land at Westmoreland Farms, located at 5919 Dashwood St., from Deng’s Enterprises. Bill Burge and Mark Lehman of Grubb & Ellis represented the buyer in the transaction. Deng’s Enterprises represented itself.
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Headquarters Facility to Fort Bend
Lufkin Automation, a provider of engineered products and services to oil and gas producers, has purchased a 6.2 acre land site within Lakeview Business Park. This marks the first land sale closed in the newly developed business park, which is located Missouri City, Texas, in Fort Bend County.
The City of Missouri City and the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council (GFBEDC) played a significant role in attracting Lufkin Automation to Lakeview. Lufkin is currently situated in approximately 25,000 sf in Houston and upon the expansion and relocation, will bring approximately 45 jobs to the area when the building is complete.
“We’re glad to see Lufkin Automation chose Lakeview Business Park for its headquarters,” said Jim Casey, a managing director of Trammell Crow Company. “Their attractive building will add to the high quality environment that Lakeview offers. The site they have purchased will accommodate their future expansion plans as well.” Powers Brown Architecture is designing the facility.
Lakeview Business Park is a 157-acre development of Trammell Crow Company and Crow Holdings Realty Partners IV, L.P. Lakeview offers users a master-planned business park environment with sites for sale, as well as recently completed buildings for sale or lease. The light industrial development is set in a unique natural environment with mature trees and neighboring lakes. It’s conveniently located near the Sam Houston Parkway, U.S. Highway 90-A, and the Fort Bend Parkway, allowing easy access to the Greater Houston area.
Lufkin Automation’s $4 million, 40,000 sf facility will serve as the company’s new headquarters for this subsidiary of Lufkin Industries, Inc. Lufkin Automation is a leader in the development, manufacture, sales and service of technically advanced, electronic well automation equipment and the premier supplier of artificial lift optimization and training with emphasis on increasing profits for oil and gas producers through minimized operating cost and optimum production.
Jarret Venghaus and Don Foster with Jones Lang LaSalle represented Lufkin Automation in the transaction while Steve King, Faron Wiley and Joseph Smith of CB Richard Ellis represented the land seller.
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Looking Ahead: Lower Rents, High Vacancy
HOUSTON - Although oil prices have rebounded to a level that should sustain operations in most energy companies, the national recession is weighing on office operations in Houston, according to a fourth-quarter Office Research Report by Marcus & Millichap, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm. The abundance of Fortune 500 headquarters in the area, in particular, is resulting in significant layoffs in the professional and business services segment.
“The office investment climate in Houston deteriorated late compared to much of the country due to the relative health of the local economy,” says Brent Smith, regional manager of the Houston office of Marcus & Millichap.
Following are some of the most significant aspects of the Houston Office Research Report:
• The rate of job losses is expected to fall dramatically in the next few months. Nonetheless, payrolls are forecast to be thinned by 76,000 positions this year, a 2.9 percent decline. Office-using employment is projected to decrease 4 percent, or by 22,300 jobs.
• Builders are expected to complete 4.2 million sf of office space in 2009, although the pace of deliveries will slow as the year progresses.
• As the recession weighs on office properties in the Houston metro, vacancy is projected to rise to 15.7 percent by year end, 300 basis points above the rate at the close of last year.
• Asking rents are forecast to fall 1.4 percent this year to $23.93 per sf while effective rents retreat 3.7 percent to $19.91 per sf. In 2010, office rents are expected to recede further due to sluggish economic growth.
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Downtown Building Sold
The 20-story JP Morgan Chase Center in downtown Houston has been sold. The building is located at 601 Travis on the block bounded by Capitol, Travis, Texas and Main streets. The building has 12 levels of parking and 450,000 sf of office space. The buyer is Texas Tower Limited, owner of the 75-story JPMorgan Chase Tower next door. Hines and Clifford Chance US LLP of New York represented Texas Tower Limited in the transaction, while Mark Russell at Studley represented the seller, JPMorgan Chase. The JP Morgan Chase Center, completed in 1982, was designed by I.M. Pei & Partners and developed by Hines. Over the years, JPMorgan Chase has used the location as a data processing and operations center. The bank is consolidating to 712 Main and 1111 Fannin, retaining just 26,000 sf at the Center. Upon Chase’s departure, 250,000 sf will be available for lease. In addition to JPMorgan Chase, the Bank of New York Mellon leases office space in the Center.
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XL Parts Adding 101,650 SF
HOUSTON – Cadence McShane Construction Co. has jump-started work on a 101,650-sf industrial building for XL Parts at its 24-acre operations hub in northwest Houston.
The contract includes a 12,017-sf office retooling in XL Parts' 187,620-sf building at 15701 Northwest Freeway. The build-to-suit contract includes site work, landscaping and surface parking spaces for 138 vehicles.
Munson Kennedy Partnership is the architect for the expansion by the direct-to-the-installer parts supplier for Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Oklahoma City. Dallas-based Cadence McShane's Houston division is scheduled to deliver the build-to-suit in February.
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Work Starts on 60,000-SF MOB
RICHMOND, Texas – OakBend Medical Center has broken ground on a 60,000-sf office project for a second campus in Fort Bend County.
The three-story OakBend Doctors Center is going up at 22001 Southwest Freeway at its intersection with Williams Way and adjacent to OakBend's new acute-care hospital. The medical office building will deliver in the spring.
The co-developers are McShane Development Co. LLC, headquartered in Rosemont, Ill., and Chicago-based Harrison Street Partners, a joint venture partnership formed earlier this year. Cadence McShane Construction Co. is providing the design/build services. Marasco & Associates of Denver is the conceptual designer and Seeberger + Associates LP of Houston is the architect of record.
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Hotel Opens
Dallas-based Aimbridge Hospitality has opened Embassy Suites-Energy Corridor. The 14-story, 216-room all-suite hotel, owned by Mac Haik Enterprises, is located at 11730 Katy Freeway/I-10 at the Gateway to Houston’s Energy Corridor and home to Houston’s Fortune 500 companies and other multi-national and local growth-oriented companies. This is Aimbridge Hospitality’s third managed hotel in Houston and its 10th Embassy Suites flag.
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Bissonnet Property Sold
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services announced the sale of 11611 Bissonnet, a 15,238 sf industrial property in Houston, according to Brent Smith, Regional Manager of the firm’s Houston office.
Joshua Lass-Sughrue, an investment specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Houston office, represented the seller, a Hawaii based private investor. The buyer, a Texas based private investor, was secured and represented by Justin Miller, an investment specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Houston office.
The industrial building is located at 11611 Bissonnet. It was built in 1986 and sits on one acre of land.
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Westheimer Retail Sold
HOUSTON – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services announced the sale of Village Shops Westheimer, a 64,813 sf property located in Houston, TX, according to Brent Smith, Regional Manager of the firm’s Houston office. The listing price was $7.3 million.
Jerry D. Goldstein, a Vice President/Investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Houston office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a California based limited liability company. A Texas based limited liability company acquired it.
Village Shops Westheimer is located at 12280 Westheimer Road on Houston’s west side near Royal Oaks Country Club. The property was built in 1984 and has 4.95 acres of land.
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Weingarten Sells Houston Property
HOUSTON - HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced that it has closed the sale of Central Park Northwest, a 283,182-sf industrial flex service center in Houston.
HFF senior managing director Rusty Tamlyn led the investment sales team on behalf of the seller, Weingarten Realty Investors. CC Realty Advisors, a national investor of retail, industrial and office properties, purchased Central Park Northwest for an undisclosed amount. The transaction was completed in 86 days from contract to close.
Central Park Northwest contains eight single-story buildings that are 81 percent leased. The property is situated on more than 18 acres at 2200-2501 Central Parkway and 4930 Dacoma near the intersection of Interstate 610 and US Highway 290 in northwest Houston .
Houston-based Weingarten Realty Investors has interest in a total of 378 developed income-producing properties and 24 properties under various stages of construction and development.
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Chicago Group Buys Texas Self-Storage
A nine-property self storage
portfolio located in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio has been sold.
HFF's Aaron Swerdlin and Doug
McCarron led the investment sales team exclusively on behalf of the
seller. The portfolio was listed for $71 million. HSRE (Harrison Street
Real Estate Capital, LLC), of Chicago, purchased the portfolio for an
undisclosed price. HSRE’s company model is to acquire as well as to
provide equity capital to developers and operators in the areas of real
estate related to education, healthcare and self storage.
“We were pleased to acquire such a strong performing portfolio of stores
with the benefit of excellent assumed CMBS debt,” said Geoffrey Regnery,
vice president at HSRE.
The properties, which were built between 1994 and 1998, contain more
than 5,300 units and total 551,609 sf. There are five
properties in Houston, two properties in Dallas, one property in Austin
and one property in San Antonio.
“The resiliency of the self storage product type in a recessionary
environment certainly was apparent by the multiple offers we had to work
with on this transaction. Augmented by the fact that all of the assets
were in Texas, one of the best performing states in the country, this
portfolio was extremely attractive to buyers with capital to invest in
self storage. We continue to see the product type outperform the broader
market, especially as the capital markets and the US economy
stabilizes,” said Swerdlin.
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Huge Timber Tract 90 Miles NE of Houston
To Be Sold in Nov. 16 Sealed Bid Sale
CORRIGAN, Texas - The Cambium-Corrigan tract, a 14,583-acre contiguous parcel in the timberlands of East Texas, is being sold in a sealed bid sale that will close before the end of the year.
This is one of the most outstanding timberland investment tracts to come on the market in recent years,” said Dan Daniels, CRE of College Station-based Greater Houston Market Services LLC, who along with Andy Flack of Huntsville based-Homeland Properties, Inc. is handling the sale. “This land offers well-managed and fully stocked pine plantations, good topography and internal road system, cash flow via timber and hunting income, and is an ideal inflation hedge.”
The Cambium-Corrigan tract is located 90 miles northeast of downtown Houston in Polk County, just west of U.S. Highway 59 and the Corrigan, Texas community and is owned by an investments group managed by RMK Timberland Group.
The land has frontage on two state highways -- Highway 287 and FM 350. The Cambium – Corrigan tract is located in close proximity to many local lumber mills.
“With its 22 lakes and ponds, favorable topography and its close proximity to Houston, this land also provides excellent longer term higher-and-better-use potential,” said Flack.
Interested investors must submit bids by Nov. 16, 2009 and be prepared to close on Dec. 21, 2009.
Greater Houston Market Services and HomeLand Properties Inc. have a long history of specializing in investment land sales, timberland, rural acreage and other Texas real estate.
More detailed information is available upon request and full data packages are available at www.homelandprop.com and www.ghmsland.com.
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Beechnut Property Sold
Beechnut Business Park, a 37,920 sf industrial property located at 12769 Beechnut has been sold, according to Brent Smith, Regional Manager of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. The asset had a list price of $1,6 million. Joshua Lass-Sughrue and Justin Miller, investment specialists at Marcus & Millichap handled the sale. The property was built in 2008 and sits on 108,753 sf of land.
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North Houston Industrial
Nestle Waters North America, Inc. has sold a 10,320 sf industrial/warehouse facility to E and S Partners LLC. The property is located at 1930 Lauder Road in north Houston. Patrick Rollins of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller in the transaction. Greg Barra of Boyd Commercial represented the buyer.
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ReFi for Retail Space
John Burke of NorthMarq Capital arranged a $6 million refinance of a first mortgage for the Kirkwood Shopping Center located in Houston. The property contains a total of 59,504 sf with tenants including Davita Dialysis, Charlotte’s Saddlery, Starbucks, and Wayne’s Carpet. Financing was based on a 9-year term with a 20-year amortization schedule and was arranged for the borrower, an individual investor, by NorthMarq through its correspondent relationship with Symetra Life Insurance Company.
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Woodlake Shopping Center Sold
HOUSTON - Woodlake Collection a 9,861 sf shopping center is located at 2660 South Gessner at Westheimer has been sold to a Houston-based partnership. The project is at the eastern boundary of the Westchase District. The shopping center was offered for sale through an offer process that generated nearly 30 offers.
Ryan West and Paula Foster of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller.
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Denver Group Makes Warehouse
Play in Sugar Land Business Park
SUGAR LAND - Northstar Commercial Partners of Denver has purchased and industrial property 1601 Gillingham Lane in Sugar Land Business Park for $15.7 million.
The property was acquired from Amegy Bank which also provided the primary financing for the deal. . There are two short term tenants in place which provide an income stream to services the debt for the next 15 months while NCP looks to secure a long term deal. Given the above average clear height of 28’-38’, as well as the excess five acres for outside storage/trailer parking, the property is an ideal fit for large warehouse and distribution users from furniture companies to third party logistics groups.
Located in the Sugar Land Business Park, 1601 Gillingham was built in 2007 and is a state-of-the-art, Class A industrial warehouse and distribution center measuring 330,964 SF on 21.1 acres of land. The building includes a structural 2nd story floor plate of 38,400 SF, which is fully equipped with HVAC and brings the total size of the building to 369,364 SF.
Northsaid said Sugar Land is one of the most desirable submarkets in the greater Houston marketplace (representing one of the strongest industrial markets in the country), and boasts one of the lowest overall vacancy rates as well as the highest average lease rates.
“1601 Gillingham represents an ideal acquisition in the current market environment,” said R. Brian Watson, Founder and President of Northstar Commercial Partners. “ This is one of the highest quality industrial assets in Houston, and we look forward to making this investment a great success.”
Bob Berry and Jarret Venghaus of Jones Lang Lasalle represented the seller, Amegy Bank in the transaction. NCP will immediately offer the property for lease or sale to users.
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Eye Center Sold to New York Group
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services announced the sale of International EyeCare Laser Center, a 7,800 sf single-tenant net-leased property located in Houston, according to Brent Smith of M&M. , Regional Manager of the firm’s Houston office. The property had a list price of $2.1 million.
Josh Lass-Sughrue and Jason Ridenbaugh, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap’s Houston office, had the exclusive listing to market the property.
International EyeCare Laser Center is located at 926 North Wilcrest Drive. The property was built in 1970 and renovated in 2000, and sits on 12,719 sf of land.
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Industrial Land Sale
Two acres of industrial land in La Porte has been sold to an investor, Thomas Bedford. Grubb & Ellis's Doug Bates and Joel Hill handled the sale. Bill Grisham of Grisham and Associates properties represented the seller, Ronald Tucker. The property is near the intersection of Highway 225 and Sens Road. Highway 225 is an excellent area for industrial land investment, said Hill.
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Beltway Lakes Building Gets LEED Gold
HOUSTON -- The initial phase of Beltway Lakes has been awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by Green Building Certification Institute.
Located at the Southeast corner of Beltway 8 and SH-249, Beltway Lakes achieved the LEED Gold certification for energy efficiency, water and material use as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies, said Tom Radom, a vice with Radler Enterprises Inc., the owner and developer of Beltway Lakes. Beltway Lakes is the only building on Beltway 8 and in North Houston to achieve certification at the Gold level under the Core and Shell rating system.
“Beltway Lakes’ LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council.
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Chili’s Ground Lease Sold
BAY CITY -- Colliers International announced Michael Ha and Ann Ha have purchased a Chili’s ground lease at 4207 7th St., Bay City, Texas. The purchaser was represented by Ken Luu of ReMax Heritage. Christopher D. Winters of Colliers International represented SDI Bay City Holdings Ltd. in the transaction.
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Kingwood Land Sold
Richter Family LP bought five acres of commercial land in Kingwood in Montgomery County. Kelley Parker III; John F. Littman and Coe Parker of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. represented the buyer in the negotiations. Roddy McAlpine of McAlpine Interests represented the seller, TVMS Land Investment Inc.
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Jack in Victory Lakes
HOUSTON - San Diego-based Jack in the Box Inc. one of the nation’s largest hamburger chains, has signed a land lease at the Victory Lakes Town Center, which is located Gulf Freeway South and FM 646 in League City, Texas. Brandi Dees of CB Richard Ellis represented Jack in the Box in the transaction. Heather Nguyen of NewQuest Properties represented the landlord, A-s 85 Victory Lakes.
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Vin Bar to Open in Hotel Derek
HOUSTON -- Vin Bar, the eclectic and more informal dining environment of will open Sept. 21 at Hotel Derek, which is at the northeast corner of Westheimer and Loop 610, near Houston’s Galleria. Vin Bar will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week.
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American Spectrum Positioning
To Buy Management Company
HOUSTON – American Spectrum Realty Inc. and Evergreen Realty Group LLC have signed a memorandum of understanding for the acquisition of property management contracts in 15 states.
Evergreen Realty Property Management LLC, based in Pasadena, Calif., with its parent, holds contracts for more than 60 properties, including Texas student housing developments in Austin, College Station, Lubbock, San Marcos and Waco. The property management group's portfolio also includes conventional apartments, commercial and industrial properties, retail assets and self-storage units. The management group's parent firm owns 74 properties in 21 states.
In a press release, Houston-based American Spectrum indicated due diligence has yet to begin. The publicly traded company's existing portfolio totals 2.7 million sf in 29 office, industrial and retail properties in California, Arizona, the Midwest and the Lone Star State. Its properties are managed by a wholly owned subsidiary, American Spectrum Realty Management Inc.
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Hartman Buys Two Houston Buildings
HOUSTON – Locally based Hartman Income REIT Inc. has acquired two office buildings in North Houston's FM 1960 submarket from Koll Bren Schreiber Realty Advisors.
The REIT's new portfolio pieces are the 128,891-sf Northchase Center at 14550 Torrey Chase Blvd. and 71,008-sf Cornerstone Plaza at 3707 FM 1960 West. The REIT's team said its plan is to stabilize both assets within three years at current submarket rates.Northchase Center is 93 percent leased, with its tenant roster sporting Valassis, Frontline Group and Discount Tires. The 92 percent-leased Cornerstone Plaza's roster includes the regional corporate headquarters of McDonalds and graphic designer firm, Aesbus Co.
KBS used a broker in its homeport, Mark Lucescu of Lucescu Realty in Newport Beach, Calif., to negotiate the sale. The REIT's executive vice president of acquisitions Dave Wheeler handled negotiations for the $300 million REIT, which has a 29-property portfolio with 3.4 million sf of office, industrial and retail space in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.
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Houston's Retail Market Remains
Stable Despite Recession Threats
By Connie Gore
HOUSTON - In an intersection of past and present, Greater Houston's retail market long-time construction restraint has paid off in 2009, allowing occupancy to remain relatively stable in the 137 million-sf inventory despite the recession and retreat by some name brands.
"Demand-based construction since the early 1990s is one key factor in the market's ability to maintain balance in the midst of one of the most challenging retail markets in years," said Ian Pierce, corporate communications director and part of the marketing and research team for Dallas-based Weitzman Group. "By avoiding speculative construction on a wide scale, the market entered the current downturn with a strong inventory of well-leased, quality retail projects."
Occupancy was 87 percent at the end of the second quarter, just 0.8 percent lower than one year ago. And that, Pierce pointed out, was in spite of 600,000 sf being vacated by Circuit City and Linens 'n Things.
Houston's high ranking on all economic barometers, including job creation, has not only kept the region ahead of its metro peers, but has drawn new retailers and concepts to its bounds. New commitments have come from Nordstrom Rack and Ross Dress for Less while Walmart Stores Inc. has tapped the market to roll out the nation's first Hispanic-theme Walmart Supermercado and a Hispanic-theme warehouse club, Mas. Also new to the market this year is Golfsmith Xtreme, which planted its third location in the nation in a 40,000-sf box along Interstate 45.
In the restaurant sector, new sites are being sought by Carl's Jr., Five Guys Burgers, Extreme Pita, Olive Garden and Red Lobster.Weitzman's research shows developers will add 2.5 million sf this year. Last year, they delivered 4.9 million sf. "Fortunately, the new projects are well anchored, at strong intersections and in areas of residential density," Pierce said.
Rent, like occupancy, has remained relatively stable due to the Houston market dynamics. Small-shop, inline space in a well-located, anchored class A project is ranging from the low $30 per sf to nearly $40 per sf on an annual basis. Class B small-shop space foes from $18 per sf to the low $20 per sf while class C is fetching $15 per sf to $18 per sf.
"Houston's retail market continues to benefit from an economy that has slowed, but still outperforms the nation as a whole," Pierce added. "For the rest of 2009 and going into 2010, Houston's retail market should maintain a good balance, based on a timely slowdown in new construction, continued retail leasing and a relatively strong economy."
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Cameron Notches LEED Designation
For St. James Place Office Project
Houston-based Cameron Management announced that 2000 St. James Place, an office building west of the Galleria, has been awarded LEED-EB v2.0 Gold certification, a rating given by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for existing buildings. After successfully completing the requirements to attain gold status, 2000 St. James Place is the only commercial office building in Texas that currently holds this rating and one of 49 buildings in the United States to obtain LEED-EB v2.0 Gold or Platinum certification since its release in October 2004, Cameron said.
Cameron Management achieved gold, the second highest rating in the system, for the more stringent certification version for existing buildings (LEED-EB v2.0). Finding that LEED-EB v2.0 was very hard to attain, the USGBC later released a new version, LEED-EB: O&M, that removes some of the more difficult prerequisites required in the old version, while strengthening the focus on water and energy efficiency.
Dougal Cameron, chief executive officer of Cameron Management., said: "This certification further demonstrates Cameron Management’s ongoing commitment to the environment, energy efficiency and the safety and comfort of our tenants."
Cameron also pointed out that, while some companies hire specialty firms to provide LEED facilitation services, all documentation and work for 2000 St. James was performed by the Cameron Management team led by Morris Chen, LEED AP and general manager, and Allan Fuller, LEED AP and director of engineering. The entire certification process spanned 15 months from registration to final documentation.
LEED-EB v2.0 promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in six key areas of human and environmental health including sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, material and resource selection, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in operation and upgrades.
The 2000 St. James Place building has several features that enable it to operate more efficiently and with less environmental impact when compared to similar buildings. Among the highlights of 2000 St. James’ green elements are:
1.1.71 acres of the site’s 6.23 acres are landscaped to reduce stormwater drainage and reduce heat island effects
2. Roof was coated with a high albedo material to minimize heat island effects with energy saving benefits
3. High-efficiency chillers were recently installed
4. Extensive building automation control system features web-based user interface
5. Air handling units were refitted
6. Lighting was retrofit with integrated lighting controls and high efficiency lamps
·7.Humidity and carbon dioxide sensors monitor and control indoor air quality
Built in 1978, the 2000 St. James Place building is a 12-story structure comprised of approximately 350,899 sf of rentable office space located in the Galleria/ Uptown submarket of Houston.
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Galleria Area Tract Sold
People’s Trust Federal Credit Union has purchased 0.750 acres in Houston’s Galleria/Uptown area at 3390 Sage Road. Russell Janicek and Mark Raines of CB Richard Ellis represented the buyer in the transaction. Erin Dyer represented the seller, Lovett Commercial.
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TrinityCare Advances Growth Strategy
KATY, Texas – TrinityCare Senior Living Inc. has executed a $10 million funding agreement with a national lender to allow construction to begin this year on the 82-unit Trinity Woods. The HUD 232 funds are expected to be in hand in the fall.
If all goes as planned, the Friendswood, Texas-based senior living developer will complete its third project in the metro in 2010. "Katy, Texas has experienced rapid population growth in recent years and the demographics surrounding this project reflect a great need for the type of facility we are building," said Alan Atkinson, managing director of AVA Ltd., which will contribute land in exchange for equity in the Trinity Woods development.
Donald W. Sapaugh, chairman and CEO of TrinityCare Senior Living, said the past two months have resulted in funding commitments for three projects in Texas and Tennessee, all slated for completion in 2010. "We expect to announce additional funding agreements later this year, thus allowing us to fulfill our growth expectations," he said. The developer's near-term expansion plans are pointed at the Southeast.
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Sold: 77-Room Best Western
By Connie Gore
HENDERSON, Texas – Fresh off the heels of a renovation, the 77-room Best Western in northeast Texas has been sold to a couple from Houston, who plans to add a signature restaurant and bar as a testing ground for the chef in the family.
An estimated $100,000 will be spent on the hotel, which will continue to fly its Best Western flag, said Michael Yu, director of the national hospital group in Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services' Houston office. The 32-year-old hotel sits on 4.2 acres at 1500 US Hwy. 259.
Yu said the seller completed renovations earlier this year, putting the hotel on the market to end a three-year hold to get equity for some East Coast investments. "In this case, we had a seller who was motivated. He was pretty realistic on the price," the broker said. From the buyer's perspective, Yu quickly added that "the property will produce decent cash flow even in this environment."
The buyer was one of two investors who made offers during the hotel's two-month run on the market. "They acquired the property at an attractive price. When the market turns around, it will show decent appreciation," Yu said, citing the new restaurant's impact on the long-term value.
Yu and Rahul Bijlani, also a director in Houston, brokered the transaction and helped the buyer secure financing. Yu said the deal was sealed with a SBA 504 loan at 75 percent leverage from a lender with a longstanding business relationship with the two brokers, who are top-ranked hospitality brokers in the Encino, Calif.-based Marcus & Millichap's ranks. In the past four years, they've sold more than 60 hotels, accounting for 90 percent of the firm's hotel transactions.
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Houston Investor Acquires
Hill Country's Faust Hotel
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – A limited liability company from Houston has grabbed the deed to the 61-room Faust Hotel, a historic property in a tourist-driven community in the fabled Texas Hill Country.
The buyer, whose identity is being kept under wraps, does own other businesses in New Braunfels, according to Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. Its senior associate, Allan Miller, brokered the sale of the boutique hotel at 240 S. Sequin Ave. for its sole proprietor. The hotel, listed on historic registries, features an on-site pub/microbrew.
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Athletic Club for Pearland
NFL quarterback Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans and former pro athlete James Cooper are leading a group developing the Co-Op Athletic Club & Spa at the WaterLights District in Pearland, just south of Houston. The 75,000-sf project will be located on the west side of Highway 288 and should be complete by the fall of 2010. The 2Scale architecure firm designed the building and Allegro Builders is the general contractor. The WaterLights District is slated to be a 2 million-sf mixed-use project by a development group that includes Richard P. Browne, the planner for The Woodlands. The Athletic Club was announced at an event featuring Young, the NFL's Rookie of the Year in 2006.
The facility will encompass basketball courts, a 65 yard Football / Soccer field, Baseball batting cages, indoor running track, rock climbing wall, fitness equipment, racquet ball courts, yoga and pilate's classes, martial Arts, luxury spa, Lounge pool, cafe and other activities. Professional athletes will train there also, Cooper said.
The Waterlights District is billed as "the nation’s next major economic district." WaterLights will feature residential condominiums, brownstones, luxury apartments, office buildings, retail boutiques, destination athletic club & spa, fresh market, restaurants and wine bars, luxury hotels, a conference facility, a water wall and public park along a Grand Canal waterway. The entire community is pedestrian-friendly featuring sustainable, healthier, technologically advanced features to enhance the quality of human life. WaterLights is a private-public partnership within the Spectrum Special Management District.
Historic Real Estate Inc. invests and collaborates with major private and public institutions to establish legacy developments that outperform the marketplace by leveraging more than 100 years of experience in place-making around the world. Its principals have been responsible for the establishment of innovative developments in seven countries, creating value of over $ 29 billion and livable environments for over one million people.
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AutoZone Store Sold
Stan Johnson Company has completed the sale of a ground lease of a free-standing AutoZone store to an individual investor for an undisclosed price. The property is located on .77 acres just west of the northwest corner of Katy Ft. Bend and Franz Road in Katy, Texas.
Hunter Jaggard and Daniel Herrold of Stan Johnson Company’s Houston Office represented the seller, Houston-based Gulf Coast Commercial Group, Inc. Geoff Hannan of Capital Real Estate Investments of San Diego represented the buyer, who was on a 1031 exchange..
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CVS Building Sold
Stan Johnson Company, one of the nation’s premier net lease brokerage firms, has completed the sale of a 13,013 sft, free-standing retail store 100% leased to CVS Pharmacy to a Maryland-based individual investor for an undisclosed price. The property is located on 1.83 acres at 8754 Spring Cypress Road in Spring, Texas.
Hunter Jaggard and Daniel Herrold of Stan Johnson Company’s Houston office represented the seller, Houston-based Gulf Coast Commercial Group, Inc. Steve Weiss of Colliers Pinkard out of Baltimore, Maryland, represented the buyer.
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Yancey Takes Third Deal from Californians
Yancey-Hausman Interests of Houston was awarded the property management contract of 701 N. Post Oak, a 126,000 sf office building near I-10 and Loop 610. This is the third property management assignment that one of the investors from California has assigned to Yancey-Hausman.
Yancey-Hausman Chief Executive Officer is Arnie Altsuler. Vice President Rhoda Fertig arranged the assignment.
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Class A Office Comes Online in
Beltway Lakes in Northwest
The second office building in Beltway Lakes has been completed, increasing the existing office space in the development to 323,000 sf. More buildings are planned in future phases.
Radler Enterprises, a Houston-based firm, is developing the 46-acre Beltway Lakes at the intersection of Beltway 8 and Highway 249 in nrthwest Houston.
Colliers International has been awarded the leasing assignment for the entire Beltway Lakes project. David Carter and Robert S. Parsley, will lead the leasing team in their efforts; they will be assisted by Chris Volke.
The initial development phase of Beltway Lakes consists of two, six-story Class A office buildings totaling 323,000 sf. The office buildings have been Pre-Certified at the Gold Level under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Core and Shell Green Building Rating System.
With the completion of Beltway Lakes II, both Beltway Lakes buildings are now ready for occupancy. The buildings feature the latest in HVAC and air quality technology, dual-pane insulated glazing, dramatic granite and stone detailing, and an enclosed climate-controlled=2 0walkway from the structured parking garage to the building. The buildings have been designed with accessibility and safety in mind and feature sixteen infrared cameras strategically located throughout the buildings and parking garage. The parking garage allows for a 4/1,000 parking ratio, and includes a code blue intercom system on each level.
Beltway Lakes is owned, developed and managed by Radler Enterprises, Inc., a privately-owned real estate firm based in Houston, Texas. Since its inception in 1987, Radler has acquired and developed hundreds of properties, primarily consisting of office buildings, but also regional shopping malls, shopping centers, office/warehouse complexes and tracts of vacant land. Radler traditionally focuses on acquiring distressed and opportunistic commercial real estate, but also develops commercial real estate projects as well.
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Weingarten Sells Shopping Center;
Buyer to Redevelop Project
Schreer: 'We're Building a Large Portfolio'
Weingarten Realty Investors has sold off the Steeplechase Shopping Center in northwest Houston to Jones 1960 Crossroads L.L.C.
Steeplechase Shopping Center is a 194,000 sf community retail center and is located at the Southwest corner of Jones Road and FM 1960 West in Northwest Houston. Major tenants include Palais Royal, 99¢ Only, Anna’s Linens, and Capital One Bank. Plans call for redevelopment of the center and the addition of national tenants, all part of an aggressive marketing plan led by Lyle Cowand and David Werlin of WPW Management. The price was undisclosed.
"I believe in Houston, even in the worst economic times. Houston has the tenacity to survive,” states Andrew Schreer, managing partner of Schreer Partnership Interests. "This purchase represents more than another acquisition. It is the centerpiece of building a large portfolio of multiple anchored shopping centers which includes Greens Crossroads & Mangum Shopping Center. To those who say this couldn’t get done, especially during times like these, I say sit back and watch us grow."
Rudy Hubbard and Leah Gallagher of Transwestern represented the seller, Weingarten Realty Investors, in the transaction. “Getting Steeplechase closed says a lot about investor’s confidence in Houston despite the malaise of the national retail market and the frozen capital markets," Hubbard said.
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Grubb & Ellis Retail Deals
Grubb & Ellis handled the sale of two retail buildings in Houston.
Randy W. Williams, Trustee, sold 835 W. 34th St., a 33,250-sf retail building, formerly known as Tuscany at Garden Oaks, to an undisclosed buyer. Bill Burge and Mark Lehman of Grubb & Ellis represented the seller in the transaction.
In addition, 7321 Harrisburg LLC purchased a 24,251-sf building at Family Dollar, located at 7321 Harrisburg, from 73rd Street @ Harrisburg L.P. Gus Lagos of Grubb & Ellis represented the buyer in the transaction.
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Ground Lease Sold
Stan Johnson Company, a net lease brokerage firm, has completed the sale of a ground lease of a 5,000-sf free-standing bank branch 100% leased to JP Morgan Chase to a Washington-based individual investor for an undisclosed price. The property is located on 1.3 acres at 8027 West Grand Parkway South in Katy, Texas.
Hunter Jaggard and Daniel Herrold of Stan Johnson Company’s Houston office represented the seller, Houston-based Read King Commercial Real Estate. Chad Carper of Kiemle & Hagood Company out of Spokane, Wash. represented the buyer.
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Bank Building Sold
HOUSTON – Grubb & Ellis Co. announced that George Cushing, executive vice president, and Wendy Vandeventer, vice president, represented Eastbourne Oak Forest L.P. in the sale of a Wachovia Bank building located at 1350 W. 43rd St.
Subject to a 20-year triple net ground lease, the 29,906-sf fee-owned parcel is improved with a 4,000-sf Wachovia Bank building, which was constructed in 2008. The building is located at the northwest corner of 43rd Street and Ella Boulevard, in The Shops at Oak Forest center, approximately nine miles from Houston’s central business district. It has convenient access to the North Loop and U.S. 290 and serves the communities of Oak Forest and Garden Oaks on Houston’s near north side.
Mark Sondock of NewQuest Properties represented the buyer, Patterson Ranch Inc.
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Sugar Land Deal
Houston – Nizari Progressive Federal Union, a member-owned financial institution with over $50 million in assets with offices located in Texas, California and Illinois, has purchased a 3,500 sf retail/bank building from Compass Bank. The property is situated at 11770 University Boulevard in Sugar Land, Texas. Mark Raines, Matt Keener and Russell Janicek of CB Richard Ellis represented the buyer in the transaction. Simmi Jaggi and Elizabeth Clampitt, also of CB Richard Ellis, represented the seller.
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Stream Realty
KDC has awarded Stream Realty Partners, L.P. the management of Ellington Trade Center, a state-of-the-art three-building industrial development that totals 513,800 sf in the Southeast Houston industrial submarket.
Ellington Trade Center is located at 12552, 12554 and 12556 Old Galveston Road / State Highway 3, and can accommodate tenants ranging from 15,000 square feet to 284,000 square feet.
The project is leased by Jon Michael, John Ferruzzo and Griff Bandy of NAI Houston. Laurie Gajevsky is senior vice president of Stream’s industrial property management division.
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FEATURED PROPERTY
Riceland Pavilion I Up for Sale
BAYTOWN, Texas – A Texas-based investment group has put the 75,660-sf Riceland Pavilion I on the market for $11.8 million. The deal bears an 8.5 percent cap rate, with assumable financing as an option.
Jerry Goldstein, vice president and senior director for Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, is representing the seller of the 8.5-acre asset at 4615 Garth Rd. Goldstein pointed to Baytown's growing industrial base as key to the center's future potential and its location in the city's primary retail corridor.
Built in 1999, Riceland Pavilion I has four buildings, the largest of which is 51,667 sf. Its anchor roster consists of Lane Bryant, Old Navy, Office Depot and Famous Footwear, with an electronics store, homes good and restaurants rounding out the mix. The center shares a parking lot with Hobby Lobby and Ross Dress for Less plus sits across the street from a Wal-Mart Supercenter.
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West 34th Street
Richards Property Management, LLC purchased a 15,000-sf building on 2.4 acres at 1006 W. 34th St. Mike Boyd & Greg Barra of Boyd Commercial represented the Purchaser.
The seller was OFI Testing Equipment, Inc., represented by Barrett Gibson of Gibson & Granello.
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Spring Industrial
Donald Sanberg bought a 30,000-sf industrial building on 2.8 acres at 21019 Spring Towne Drive in Spring, Texas. Clay Peeples of /Boyd Commercial, LLC represented seller, Ronald E. Farrell Trust.
Mike Spears and Thomas Leger with The National Realty Group represented
buyer.
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Grand Lakes Bags $5.57 Million
KATY, Texas – The 24,552-sf Grand Lakes has brought $5.57 million for a Texas-based partnership.
The retail holding at 5544 S. Peek Rd. was built in 2005 on a 3.2-acre tract. The new owner is a developer from Florida, according to the deal's broker, James Bell of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investments Services.
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Regency Centers Plans October
Opening of 147,917-SF Project
RICHMOND, Texas – Regency Centers, now looking ahead to an October grand opening, has wrapped up all construction at the 147,917-sf Waterside Marketplace in Fort Bend County. Its anchor is a 123,000-sf Kroger Signature, the largest in Texas and the first to show off an upscale kitchenware and tableware line, wine shop with wine steward, Ashley-branded home furnishings and a Fred Meyer Jeweler store.
The Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers' project is already 65% leased. The center sits at the intersection of Grand Parkway and Mason Road.Kroger is an anchor tenant in 48 Regency-owned locations in the U.S. and six in Greater Houston.
"Waterside Marketplace has neared completion with a number of merchants that are open for business and three banks on outparcels. Kroger Marketplace is currently installing its fixtures and furnishings and will be hiring and training new staff soon,” said Steve Fritzer, Regency's lead in Houston. He said the team is talking to retailers of computers and electronics, mobile communications, medical services and personal beauty care for the balance of the space. Regency bought the development site in April 2007.
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Houston Retail Vacancy
Reaches 10-Year High
HOUSTON – With retail in a slump nationwide, Greater Houston has hit its highest vacancy point in 10 years. Vacancy rose 120 points in the past year, climbing to 14 percent and poised to edge higher as 4.1 million sf comes on line this year.
In a new report, Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services' research team said the trend for tenant demand is shifting toward "first-ring suburbs" as outlying areas become difficult spots for builders to fill their new centers. Last year, retail vacancies climbed 110 basis points in one year, with the year-to-year comparison showing the recession's impact is deepening. While construction is often a culprit, deliveries this year will be 25 percent lower than the region's five-year annual average, the team concluded. Last year, 5.3 million sf delivered in the region.
Vacancy's upward climb has empowered tenants to seek lease renegotiation and prospects to seek more concessions from developers and owners who are hungry to fill dark spaces. The asking rent is projected to drop 2.3 percent to $15.55 per sf. The effective rent's forecast is a 3.5 percent dip to $13.41 per sf.
"After the retail investment market in Houston outperformed much of the country last year, velocity is expected to weaken through the next several months," said Brent Smith, regional manager of the Houston office of Marcus & Millichap. He said the changing dynamics will slow sales "with owners of stabilized properties seeking peak prices as investors attempt to factor in more risk when making bids."
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FedEx Build-To-Suit Brings
$30.9 Million for PinPoint
HOUSTON – American Realty Capital Trust Inc. is paying $30.9 million for the net-leased FedEx Freight facility in northwest Houston's Satsuma Station Industrial Park.
The deal for the 152,640-sf cross-dock freight facility is slated to close June 15. American Realty Capital is marking the close with a 15-year lease and extensions in hand by FedEx Corp. According to a press release, the base rent bumps 8 percent every five years. PinPoint Commercial LP in Houston delivered the building in second quarter 2008 as a build-to-suit for
FedEx Freight East Inc., an anchor for its 115-acre logistics park along US Hwy. 290.
American Realty's corporate team is financing the acquisition with 50 percent loan-to-value financing through a major European bank. The FedEx building is a 243-door design sitting on nearly one-third of the developer's land.
American Realty has bought 93 single-tenant and net-leased properties for $180 million from its fund.
"We are excited to add this single-tenant, investment-grade, net leased asset to our portfolio," said Nicholas S. Schorsch, CEO of the New York-based investment group. "This accretive addition to the REIT will further diversify its portfolio by tenant and geography, decrease its overall leverage, and allow us to continue to cover distributions from funds from operations."
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Weingarten, DCT Industrial
Jump-Start Stock Offerings
HOUSTON – Weingarten Realty Investors has hit the marketplace with two tender offers to buy up to $350 million of outstanding notes.
An "any and all" offering will expire June 8 while a "maximum tender offer" has a June 26 deadline. The "any and all" notes begin maturing June 26 and run through Aug. 19, 2011. The maturity of the maximum offering is Aug. 1, 2026. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. is the dealer manager.
Meanwhile, Denver-based DCT Industrial Trust Inc. has jump-started a public offering for 22.5 million shares of common stock. The offering includes another 3.37 million shares to cover over-allotments. Merrill Lynch & Co., J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and Wachovia Securities are the joint book-running managers.
In its press release, DCT's executive team said net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including debt repayment.
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CBRE Realty Trust-Duke JV
Ink $41 Million Portfolio Sale
HOUSTON – Duke Realty Corp. has sold one class A building in the Energy Corridor and two in Florida for slightly more than $41 million to its joint venture partner, CB Richard Ellis Realty Trust. The trio of fully leased build-to-suit projects is underwritten with long-term leases.
The 326,886-sf portfolio includes an 89,750-sf, two-story office building at 22535 Colonial Parkway in Katy. The building is leased to Det Norske Veritas, a Norway-based provider of risk management services to the maritime and hydrocarbon industries.
The Los Angeles-based investment group also bought a 100,924-sf, three-story office building at 1390 Celebration Blvd. in Orlando and the 136,212-sf Fairfield Distribution Center IX at 4543-61 Oak Fair Blvd. in Tampa. The Orlando building, adjacent to the Walt Disney World campus in Celebration, is leased to Disney Vacation Development, which owns and manages Disney's vacation timeshares. The high-cube warehouse structure is occupied by Iron Mountain, the largest document storage company in the nation.
"We are pleased to expand our joint venture portfolio with Duke Realty Corp.," said Gary Jaye, senior acquisitions director for CBRE Investors. "With this acquisition, we seek to continue our disciplined focus on well-located, high-quality properties with strong tenancies." The JV partners plan to add up to $800 million of new build-to-suit projects in the next three years to the portfolio.
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Industrial Tract Sold
A 24,000-sf tract of industrial land at 4618 Clinton Drive was purchased 200 Emile Partners, LP. The seller was Sara Wolkowitz.. The buyer was represented by
B. Kelley Parker, III; John F. Littman and Coe Parker of Cushman & Wakefield.
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Telephone Road
5920 Telephone LLC purchased a 13,500-sf building located at 5920 Telephone Road , from The Grocers Supply Co. Inc. Gus Lagos of Grubb & Ellis’ Houston office represented the buyer and the seller in the transaction.
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Beaumont Center Traded in 1031
BEAUMONT – Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services announced the sale of Beaumont Fountain Plaza, a 23,524-sf strip shopping center, says Drew Kile, Regional Manager of the firm’s Fort Worth office.
Alvin Mansour and Philip Sambazis of Marcus & Millichap’s San Diego office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller. The buyer, an out of state limited liability company, was represented by Al Silva and Jason Heard, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap’s Ft. Worth office in the sale of a Fort Worth apartment property and utilized a 1031 exchange to purchase Beaumont Fountain Plaza.
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Seventeen Acres Sold
John Lawrie Inc. purchased 17 acres off of Miller Road near Highway 90 in eastern Harris County for expansion of Lawrie's oilfield pipe operations. The seller was Guadalupe Ramirez. Brokers Andrew W. Sowell and Mike Boyd of Boyd Commercial handled the sale.
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Colliers:
First Quarter Challenging
Houston’s office market posted 1.2 million sq. ft. of negative net absorption, falling occupancy, rising sublet space and weak leasing activity at the end of the first quarter 2009, according to a new Colliers International market research report. "Challenging conditions under any circumstances, these are even more pronounced when considering Houston’s exposure to the current economic recession has only recently begun," Colliers reported. "After three years of robust employment growth that exceeded the national average as well as many major U.S. metros, Houston recorded job losses totaling 6,300 in the twelve months ending in February 2009, with economists expecting negative job growth to continue in the coming months."
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Brookfield Sells 157,672-SF Office Portfolio
HOUSTON – Brookfield Asset Management Inc. has sold a five-property portfolio with 157,672 sf of office space to SLS Houston Properties LLC.
Texas' confidentiality clause is keeping the price under wraps for the 75 percent-leased portfolio, which has JPMorgan Chase in 43 percent of the space. The average term on in-place leases is 12.5 years. In addition, two assets came with extra developable land.
The portfolio consists of the 54,747-sf Gulfgate at 2900 Woodridge; 29,250-sf West Oaks at 6900 Highway 6 South; 23,002-sf Westwood at 9525 Bissonnet; and 21,622-sf Stafford at 11806 Wilcrest; and 29,051-sf CyFair at 13103 FM 1960 West.
"The length of term and credit on the JPMorgan Chase lease, coupled with the excess land and potential to increase occupancy, created interest from a number of private buyers," said Trent Agnew, real estate analyst for Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP in Houston. He aided HFF senior managing director Dan Miller in marketing and closing the deal for the Toronto-based Brookfield.
Miller pointed out that the office buildings front some of Houston's busiest highways "due to JPMorgan Chase's desire to be located in highly visible locations."
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Conroe Deal
Dr. Ceser Yabar bought an industrial property at 628 S. Frazier St. in Conroe. The seller was Ray-Mart. Alexander Reilly and Bo Pettit of Boyd Commercial with
Juan Sancez and Richard Foulkes of Houston International Realty
represented the Seller
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Live Oak
Savgupta, Ltd. bought one acre of land at 1510 Live Oak from
Webland Equities, L.P.
David M. Boyd and Alexander Reilly, of
Boyd Commercial represented the Seller
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Channelview Land
ACR Trucking bought four acres of land on Second St/ in Channelview.
James E. Foreman, Louis “Beau” Kaleel and William “Cape” Bell of Cushman & Wakefield represented
the seller, Joseph Clarance Ledet in the negotiations. Cynthia Martinez of Century 21 represented the Buyer.
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Bayport Land
Bayport North LLC bought five acres of land in the Bayport North Industrial Park in the La Porte area east of Houston. B. Kelley Parker, III; John F. Littman, and Coe Parker of this office represented the seller in the negotiations. Barrett Gibson of Gibson & Granello Realty and Partners, LLC and John Clark of NAI Houston represented the buyer.
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Industrial Land
Cushman and Wakefield of Texas Inc.’s Houston office negotiated the sale of 5.52 acres of land Bayport North Industrial Park. The buyer was SBS Fairmont Parkway Ltd.
B. Kelley Parker III; John F. Littman and Coe Parker of this office represented the seller in the negotiations. Will Stacy of The Simpkins Group and Larry Gray of The Arledge Group, Inc. represented the buyer.
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Pru Gary Greene Opens in Waller
Prudential Gary Greene Realtors is opening an office in the Northwest exubs of Houston to serve the Waller, Hempstead and Brenham areas. The office will be located at 31303 FM 2920 in Waller.
The 1,500 sf office space in Waller is projected to have a team of 10-12 real estate agents, including Ava Sempe, a top-producing Realtor in the Waller area
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METRO In Spotlight at ULI Forum
The idea of expanding the METRO light rail in Houston and creating transit-oriented development opportunities was a popular concept at the ULI's mayoral candidate forum at the Four Seasons hotel in downtown Houston. The candidates are architect Peter Brown, attorney Gene Locke, business owner Roy Morales and city comptroller Annise Parker. The candidates emphasized that economic development, luring new jobs to the city, is going to be a top priority in these tougher economic times. The ULI (Urban Land Institute) has voiced three priorities for Houston: affordable work force housing, enhancing sustainability and improving infrastructure, such as roads, brdges and water treatment plants.
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Houston Office Market
The Houston office market has some soft spots. The far northwest submarket around FM 1960 and Highway 249 has an oversupply of space, said John Pruitt, senior vice president of CB RIchard Ellis. In his comments to the Office Forecast Luncheon sponsored by O'Connor & Associates, Pruitt said the former Compaq Computer buildings are a signiicant drain on that far northwest submarket. Another speaker, Brandi McDonald of Transwestern predicted that rental rates will decline in Houston as vacancy rises and the economy slips.
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League City Land Sold
Denise Ksiazek of Cypressbrook Co., represented Cypressbrook Westover Park,
LP in the sale of 6.46 acres of land, located at FM 518 and Westover Park Dr. League
City, Texas. Cypressbrook is the developer of Westover Park, a 500- acre
master planned community in League City. Ward Arnold of ReWard Realty represented
the buyer, 4XS Investments No. 3 LLC.
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Medical Center
Kenneth and Ann Huete have sold a 3,567 sf medical building located at 3429 Bellaire Boulevard in southwest Houston. Simmi Jaggi and Elizabeth Clampitt of CB Richard Ellis represented the buyer, Ahab Investment Group, and the seller in the transaction.
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Colliers to Manage
18-Million Sf for Panattoni
Colliers International has been selected to provide management services for an 18-million sf office and industrial portfolio in 11 major U.S. markets for Panattoni Development Company (PDC), a privately held, full service development company founded in 1986.
In Houston, Colliers will oversee seven Panattoni office buildings and one industrial property/
Colliers will provide management services to PDC in the following markets: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Denver, Indianapolis, Memphis, Nashville, New Jersey, St. Louis and Tampa Bay. The assignment represents one-half of Panattoni’s 36 million sf office and industrial portfolio in the United States, and brings Colliers’ total square feet under management for all clients to over 886 million square feet around the world.
“We convened a specific, experienced team to deploy our management services expertise and help PDC meet their immediate and long-term business objectives,” said Roger Bilstad, Senior Vice President and a member of the national leadership team for Colliers Real Estate Management Services.
Dean Mueller, Executive Vice President of Colliers added, “A number of factors, including our experience managing large portfolios, our established relationship with Panattoni -- particularly the successful track record with our brokers -- and our cultural similarities all contributed to our selection.”
Previously, PDC had handled the portfolio’s real estate management services internally.
During the last five years, PDC has averaged nearly 15 million square feet of development annually. PDC has developed and managed industrial, office and retail facilities in more than 175 markets. The firm is headquartered in Sacramento, and maintains 35 offices throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.
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Historic Real Estate
Despite the severe national downturn in real estate development, causing many large-scale projects to halt or slow operations, Historic Real Estate is forging ahead with a multitude of high-profile economic and real estate development projects.
The company’s principals have over 200 years of combined experience in creating top notch real estate developments and their experience is serving them well during the current global economic crisis. The company recently announced over $1 billion in new developments.
“The time to create innovative developments is when everyone else is on the sidelines,” explained Richard Browne, Principal with Houston-based Historic Real Estate Inc. “Our number one criterion for developing is proximity to predictable job growth. Therefore, we have focused our new developments on the multi-billion dollar expansion of the world’s largest medical and research center in Houston – the Texas Medical Center.”
Browne, one of the world’s most respected master planners, takes pride in seeing what others cannot see. He has created visionary communities for real estate legends Jim Rouse and George Mitchell including Columbia, Maryland and The Woodlands, Texas.
“The best is yet to come,” added Browne. “ The WaterLights District will offer a superior quality of life and will raise the bar on being environmentally friendly, technologically advanced and energy efficient.”
Historic Real Estate’s landmark projects include the WaterLights District, a $700 million, 1.9 million sf mixed-use community in Pearland, just minutes from downtown Houston. The planned community will feature residential condos, brownstones, luxury apartments, office buildings, retail boutiques, a fresh market, restaurants and wine bars, three luxury hotels, a conference facility, a water wall and a public park along a Grand Canal waterway. WaterLights is strategically located near the Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest medical and research center. Employment in the area is projected to grow by 30,000 within the next six years and the resulting demand for housing, retail, and other community amenities will be met predominantly by the WaterLights District.
Within the WaterLights District, the Presidential Park and Gardens is underway. This new multi-million dollar destination will feature 44 larger than life 17-foot statues of all the United States Presidents and will be situated in a wooded park setting. It is scheduled to open in September 2009.
The Nano World Headquarters, located in Houston, is also being spearheaded by Historic Real Estate. Nano World Headquarters is a $580 million project. It will serve as a center for scientific nanotechnology collaboration world-wide and as an accelerator for start-up companies, offering a centralized intellectual hub and a state-of-the-art shared equipment facility. The headquarters will be a point of intersection where private sector, government and academic institutions will come together to create new opportunities for high salaried, high tech jobs and increase the economic development throughout the region.
The Nano project will include over 200,000 sf of shared facilities, the largest in Texas, including a 5,000 square foot Class 1000/100 Clean Room and over $35 million in equipment for nanotechnology, energy, medical and aerospace applications. The shared facilities will be available to startup companies, private sector research groups, and university and government researchers with appropriate hourly fees for equipment use.
Additionally, Historic Real Estate is introducing the Texas Gulf Coast’s only private, 100 percent waterfront community, The Peninsula on Clear Lake. The gated community is located o 30 minutes from downtown Houston and is a community featuring 37 waterfront estates and four family compounds with direct channel access to Clear Lake, Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The Peninsula, a $90 million project, will host “The Showcase of Homes on the Water” event in March. The event is projected to attract over 10,000 home and boating enthusiasts during the three weekend event.
“Historic Real Estate is committed to creating the best places for people to live, work, play, stay, learn and be entertained,” said Historic Real Estate’s Executive Director, David Goswick. “We are dedicated not only to designing and developing these locations but also to understanding the human landscape of the communities we seek to enrich.”
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East Houston Industrial Sold
Rolling Creek Ltd., has sold a 13,500 sf industrial facility to STL Interest, Inc. The property is located at 2701 Appelt Drive, just east of I-10 off of Beltway 8 in east Houston. Glynn Mireles and Billy Gold of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller in the transaction while Michael Palmer and John Simons, also with CBRE, represented the buyer.
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Transwestern Forms TRECAP Partners
By Connie Gore
HOUSTON – Transwestern has rolled out a new company, TRECAP Partners, to target investment strategies of pension funds, corporations, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, insurance companies, bank and high net-worth money managers.
At the helm are Doug Tibbetts, Gary Sligar and Paul Klick, all former executives of Equitable Real Estate Investment Management Inc. and representing more than 90 years' experience in the institutional investment advisory and services industry. TRECAP will be based in South Florida, but its leaders are in the midst of evaluating their permanent location.
TRECAP and Transwestern will align in a strategic partnership and joint venture. The relationship is akin to one that Houston-based Transwestern has shared with Chicago-headquartered Transwestern Investment Co. since its launch in 1996.
"It is not an exclusive relationship in either director, but just like Transwestern Investment Co. has become an important client of ours, we hope TRECAP will too," says Jack Eimer, president of the Central Region for Transwestern. "They're a very powerful leadership team. They feel the time is right to introduce new and creative ideas." The brokerage firm's platform consists of six business lines in 24 markets in the country.
"Over our 30-year history, we have always tried to make bold moves, particularly in times of economic uncertainty to enable our firm to flourish and to serve our clients at a higher level," Larry P. Heard, Transwestern's president and CEO, says in a press release. The TRECAP investment envisioned as a way to "expand our reach and capability in the commercial real estate sector, he adds.
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Houston Industrial Market
Off in 4th Quarter
CB Richard Ellis reported Houston's fourth-quarter market report for the city’s industrial market. The firm posted a 6.3 percent increase in vacancy along with an increase in lease rates from the previous quarter.
Supported by the energy industry, Houston’s Industrial market remained strong in the first three quarters of 2008, the report stated. However, the tides-turned in the fourth-quarter when the price of oil dropped and the energy industry began a slowdown.
According to Baker Hughes, this December, rig counts dropped from 10.5 percent from September 2008’s peak of 2,014 rigs. Oil prices tumbled to a five-year-low, falling just under $35 per barrel, plummeting from its peak in August 2008 when prices reached over $147 per barrel. Baker Hughes projects oil prices to rise no higher than $51 per barrel and rig counts to continue to decline during 2009.
Nationwide financing constraints reduced investment activity and devalued most of the major publicly traded industrial REITs. User-demand changed from buying to leasing while build-to-suit activity saw a decline and speculative buildings will all but cease, in the first half of 2009.
Absorption for the fourth quarter posted (283,948) with 3.4M sf of new construction delivered this quarter. Year absorption was a positive 4.5M sf with 4.3M sf expected to deliver in 2009.
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Boyd Commercial
Maniscalco Enterprises bought a 6,300-sf industrial building at Cranswick Business Park. Mike Boyd and Greg Barra of Boyd Commercial represented
the purchaser. John Ferruzzo and Travis Land of NAI Houston represented the seller, BRG Cornerstone Development and Construction.
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South Shore Retail
Grubb & Ellis Co announced that it represented Regency Centers in the sale of South Shore Marketplace, a 32,000-square-foot shopping center in the Houston suburb of League City.
Located at the northeast corner of League City Parkway (Highway 96) and South Shore Blvd., South Shore Marketplace includes a nearly 28,000-square-foot multi-tenant structure and a 4,000-sf building on a ground lease to Chase Bank. The 96 percent occupied center is shadow anchored by a Kroger grocery store.
“South Shore Marketplace occupies a key position in the middle of the most dynamic residential growth corridor in the Clear Lake market,” said George Cushing, senior vice president in Grubb & Ellis’ Houston office. “The quality of the development and strategic location of the center are hallmarks of Regency's development program. These attributes will deliver value to the buyer for years to come.”
South Shore Marketplace, which was purchased by Dallas-based Dunhill Partners Inc., was exclusively marketed for sale by Cushing and Wendy Vandeventer, vice president, of Grubb & Ellis’ Houston Retail Investment team.
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Katy Land
Cinco Ltd, A Texas Limited Partnership, has old 1.3 acres of land to Everylucky Investments, Inc. The parcel is located south of Interstate 10 on Royal Montreal near Mason Road, near Cinco Ranch in west Houston. Simmi Jaggi and Elizabeth Clampitt of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller in the transaction. Tricia Pearl Song represented the buyer.
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Pasadena Land
Monroe Cuatro Investments has sold 4.477 acres located at 9035 Monroe Drive in the Pasadena submarket. The property is situated adjacent to Hobby Airport and is currently vacant.
Will Hedges and Ed Frantz of CB Richard Ellis represented both buyer seller in the transaction.
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I.M.PROVED:
I.M. Pei Building to be Upgraded
A Galleria-area building designed by a world-famous architect, the 2425 West Loop South, is getting an upgrade. The Houston office tower, an investment of HE Capital, will have $1.2 million in renovations in the next six months.
The first phase of the renovation included the installation of two energy-efficient air-conditioning chillers and an upgraded energy management system.
“The most noticeable planned upgrade will be the new entry drive from the West Loop,” says Brian McMackin, vice president of CAPSTAR Commercial Real Estate Services, Houston, leasing agent for 2425 West Loop South.
Designed by the internationally renowned architect I. M. Pei, 2425 West Loop South is an 11-story, Class A building that is 74 percent occupied.
“Two contiguous floors, totaling 52,000 sf, are available for immediate occupancy,” McMackin notes. “HE Capital is also adding a state-of-the-art teleconference room to facilitate cost-effective global business.” The building is immediately adjacent to the Hotel Derek and in the Galleria/Uptown market, Houston’s largest submarket for retail, restaurants, banking and hotels.
Located just north of Westheimer on the east side of Loop 610, 2425 West Loop South has an attached, nine-floor garage with a parking ratio of 3.75 cars per 1,000 square feet of rentable space. . Leasing 2425 West Loop South are McMackin, Clint Bawcom and J.P. Hutcheson, all of Capstar Commercial Real Estate Services, Houston.
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Martindale Road
Lambright Inc. bought 3 acres in the 2400 block of Martindale Road in Houston. The seller was Meyer Living Trust.
James E. Foreman and Louis “Beau” Kaleel of Cushman & Wakefield represented the buyer.
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$485 Million for
Fed Office
By Connie Gore
New York - UrbanAmerica LP and Rubicon America Trust have tied the knot on a $485 million deal for 3.1 million sf in 13 office buildings and one distribution center in 11 states. The GSA I portfolio sale, announced in midsummer, was under a mandate to close by year-end.
UrbanAmerica's new portfolio includes a 138,000-sf office building at 1433 W. Loop South in Houston. The US Drug Enforcement Administration occupies 132,995 sf, accounting for 96.4% of the 99.6% occupancy. The DEA's lease expires in May 2012.
Australia-based Rubicon America Trust bought the Houston building in June 2005 for $14.4 million. The CB Richard Ellis marketing team--executive vice presidents Steven Buss and Tom Holtz and senior associate Ryan Watts, all in Minneapolis--had valued the building at $15.8 million. The cap rate was 6.75%.
The GSA I portfolio was 98.2% leased at sale time, of which 93% of the space is filled by government agencies. The longest running lease expires in March 2018, one of three held by the GSA on behalf of the US Army Corps of Engineers. The 104,527-sf office building at 696 Virginia Rd. in Concord, Massachusetts, was priced at a 6.5% cap rate, with valuation set at $30.7 million.
The other Army Corps leases are 4820 University Square in Huntsville, Alabama and 1325 J St. in Sacramento. The corps occupies the entire 135,746-sf building in Alabama and 229,625 sf of the 327,595 sf in Sacramento. The leases expire in October 2014 and October 2010, respectively.
The Huntsville building, a class B valued at $18.3 million, carried a 7% cap rate. The Sacramento building, a class A valued at $83 million, had a 6.5% cap rate.
The New York City-based buyer assumed $389 million of debt to close the deal, which was re-traded in early October. The portfolio originally went under contract in July for $515 million, with the seller to provide $30 million in vendor finance. In an October press release, Rubicon America said the re-pricing reflected "the deterioration in global credit markets and the consequential adverse impact on real estate valuations."
Rubicon America has pocketed $90.1 million in net sale proceeds, according to its release. It expects to pay less than $10 million in US taxes on the deal, earmarking the balance to lower debt of Rubicon US REIT Inc.
The portfolio's largest property is a 1.048-million-sf distribution center at 1900 River Rd. in Burlington, NJ, which is fully leased to the Federal Supply Service. The asset, valued at $104.6 million, carried an 8.25% cap rate. The feds' lease expires in December 2010.
The buyer's other fully leased properties are a 116,500-sf office building at 16401 E. Centre Tech Parkway in Aurora, Colorado; 203,475-sf office at 901 N. Fifth St. in Kansas City, Kansas; an 88,717-sf office at 1600 Callowhill St. in Philadelphia; 130,600-sf office at 380 Westminster St. in Providence, Rhode Island; a 144,327-sf complex at 8808 and 8819 Rio San Diego Dr. in San Diego; 351,075-sf office at 116 Lakeview Parkway in Suffolk, VA; and 53,830-sf office at 150 Corporate Blvd. in Norfolk; and 162,038-sf office at 999 E. St. Parkway in Washington, DC. An 82,845-sf office building at 755 Parfet St. in Lakewood, Colorado, was 74.3% occupied, according to the seller's website.
Office building valuations ranged from $7.3 million to $83 million, with office space labeled as class A and class B. Cap rates ranged from 5% to 8.25%. The tenant roster also included the EPA, Homeland Security, Department of the Interior, Tricare Management Activities, US Joint Forces Command, Veterans Administration, Federal Elections Commission and a GSA regional team.
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Northwest 290
ODC 290, Ltd, has sold a 10,290 sf, multi-tenant retail building to Trader Properties, LLC. The building is located at 11200 Northwest Freeway in northwest Houston, Texas and is 100% leased. Ryan West with CB Richard Ellis represented the seller in the transaction.
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Montgomery County
Joyce Sterling of Cypressbrook Company represented Alpha Fabricators, Inc. in the
purchase of 9.601 acres of land in the Charles Stephens Survey, Abstract No. 482 (Gene
Campbell Blvd.) located in Montgomery County. Frank McCrady represented East
Montgomery County Improvement District as seller.
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Pasadena
Bucsanyi Pasadena Properties, LLC has purchased 4.590 acres of land on the corner of Beltway 8 and Fairmont Plaza Drive in Pasadena, Texas. Simmi Jaggi and Elizabeth Clampitt with CB Richard Ellis represented the seller, Fairway Centre Associates, LP., in the transaction.
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Incinerator
The Commissioner’s Court of Chambers County, Texas, has sold the largest medical waste incinerator in the southwest area of the U.S. to Waste Management. Chambers County built the incinerator unit in 2001 for approximately $17.5 million and sold the facility for $25 million.
The 28,000 sf facility is situated on 40 acres at 7501 State Highway 65, just 45 miles east of Houston and 24 miles west of Beaumont. Michael Palmer and Bill Boyer of CB Richard Ellis, and the Beaumont-based law firm of Orgain, Bell and Tucker, represented Chambers County, with the assistance of Jimmy Kahla, director of solid waste for the County and the Chambers County Commissioner’s Court, in the solicitation of potential buyers of the incinerator.
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Breen Road
Cushman and Wakefield of Texas Inc.’s Houston office negotiated the following sale: 23,971 sf of office/machine shop space on 2.29 acres at 7123 Breen Road. Coe Parker; Jon Farris, B. Kelley Parker, III, and John F. Littman of C&W represented the seller in the negotiations. George W. Jones of CB Richard Ellis represented the buyer Texas Breen Road LP.
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Chen Land
Chen’s Property Management LLC purchased 6.9 acres of industrial commercial land at 1801 Decker in Houston. Rob Stillwell of Grubb & Ellis represented seller. Julie Yen of Sky Enterprises Realty represented the buyer.
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Retail Galore
The Interfin Companies announced a variety of new merchant openings at Vintage Park, including BRIX Wine Cellars, The Castleberry Center for Aesthetic Dentistry, Fish City Grill, Post Net, Signature Home Theater and Shogun Japanese Grill & Sushi. Additional merchants open now at Vintage Park include Advanced Wireless, Alan Murphy Salon, Cheeburger Cheeburger, Imagination Toys & Shoes, All About Feet, Amegy Bank, Eminence Fine Furniture, HEB Vintage Market, LandAmerica Commonwealth Title, Pepper-Lawson Construction, Potbelly Sandwich Works, Starbucks, Texas Floors, Trustmark Bank, Venetian Nail Spa, and Vintage Wellness & Aesthetic Center.
Coming soon to Vintage Park are dining venues FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt, Mia Bella, Peli Peli, Pizza Fusion, Salata and Trio Prime Steakhouse and Bar; and service retailers Bank of Texas, Compass Bank, Heritage Texas Properties, James H. Clarke, D.D.S., and Kickerillo Cos..
Developed on 84 acres at the intersection of Louetta Road and Highway 249, Vintage Park features approximately 500,000 sf for merchants and is the retail portion of a 630-acre master-planned community known as The Vintage.
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The Sanctuary
Wallace Bajjali Development Partners, LP and Glunt Investment and Development Company, Inc., both Houston-based real estate development companies, recently broke ground on The Sanctuary – a private, gated, master-planned residential community located on 67 wooded acres on Spring Cypress Road just east of Kuykendahl Road.
The Sanctuary will offer residents 24-hour guarded/gated access to an estate lot community that consists of 144 over-sized heavily wooded home sites, seven amenity parks with architectural design provided by Texas Four Architects, pedestrian walkways and trails, privacy fencing and strict deed restrictions and architectural guidelines. David Wallace is CEO of the company.
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WaterLights in Pearland
Historic Real Estate Inc. has introduced the WaterLights District, a $700 million mixed-use development, offering a walkable environment with world-class venues to live, work, play and learn in the Pearland area.
The WaterLights District will include a careful planned array of office, hotels, restaurants, boutique retail, and residential structures amid a park setting along the banks of Clear Creek, just south of the world's largest medical and research center, the Texas Medical Center.
The 150-acre development will provide significant entertainment options for the people of Houston: the Restaurant Row of unique waterfront eateries, a planned 7,500-seat enclosed arena, and the 12-acre Presidential Park and Gardens, which features a lake and pathway lined with 20-foot statues of all 42 American presidents.
"WaterLights embodies time-sharpened practices of quality place-making. The design of the development will have long-lasting appeal," said WaterLights visionary developer Richard P. Browne.
Mr. Browne has planned dozens of noteworthy communities around the world, including the Columbia Town Center in Maryland and The Woodlands in Texas.
The WaterLights District, located in the rapidly-growing Pearland community on Highway 288, is only eight miles south of the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest collection of hospitals and medical schools. Some 73,000 people are employed in the medical center and the work force will increase to 100,000 by 2014. Seventeen medical buildings, worth $3 billion, have broken ground recently in the Texas Medical Center. "The growth at the medical center enhances the potential of WaterLights tremendously," Browne said.
The WaterLights District has been targeted as the future site of the NanoWorld Headquarters, a proposed nanotechnology research campus with an affiliation with the distinguished Rice University.
The WaterLights District will be developed in accordance with the highest levels of sustainable practices, and the project is registered with the LEED "Gold" standard.
Upon completion, the WaterLights project will have 1,400 units of residential, including condominiums, brownstones and luxury apartments. Allegro Builders, a prestigious Houston-based luxury home builder, is constructing the brownstone units. Many of the residential units will be situated on upper floors above street-level shopping in the master-planned environment.
Three upscale hotels, totaling 700 rooms, will be part of in the project, including a hotel with a regional conference center.
"WaterLights is being embraced warmly by developers, retailers and restaurateurs who recognize the strength of this location," said David Goswick, executive director of Historic Real Estate Inc. "Houston's economy is outpacing the rest of the nation and the opportunity in WaterLights is attracting a lot of attention."
Houston, buoyed by the strength of the energy industry, has led the nation in job growth, generating over 100,000 jobs new in a single year. This unmatched growth narrative has focused intense investor interest on Houston, which will add 2 million in population by 2025.
WaterLights's Presidential Park and Gardens will be a tourism draw, attracting visitors from Texas and neighboring states. The presidential busts, including all of the U.S. presidents, are the creation of internationally acclaimed artist David Adickes.
The 7,500-seat WaterLights arena fills a growing niche for a conveniently located enclosed venue that can support concerts and ticketed entertainment. Plans call for Adickes' four, 36-foot sculptures of The Beatles to be located on the arena grounds.
Historic Real Estate Inc., based in Houston, is a private real estate investment and development company committed to creating the best places for people to live, work, play, stay, learn and be entertained.
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CBRE
John Maneely Company (JMC), the largest independent tubular manufacturer in North America, has sold its 188,804 sf facility located at 6247 Navigation in east Houston. The building is situated on approximately 10.82 acres and housed the company’s Seminole Wheatland Tube Facility before its acquisition by Novolipetsk Steel, a Russian steel producer. Novolipetsk purchased the company last month from The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm.
The buyer of the property is Elite Sales, Inc., a Miami-based importer and wholesale distributor of wire rope, cable, strand, chain and hardware. The company is relocating from its 40,000 square foot facility at 2003 Edwards Street, in midtown Houston, to the larger facility on Navigation. Once vacated, the Edwards Street location will be available to leasing prospects.
Micheal Palmer, John Simons and Susana Rosas with CB Richard Ellis represented John Maneely Company in this transaction and will handle the leasing efforts for 2003 Edwards Street.
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Bank of America
Bank of America has signed a 20-year ground lease on a 40,703 sf retail pad site at Southwest Corporate Center, a 535,000 sf office complex in southwest Houston. The pad site is situated at the entrance of the complex, which is located at Bissonnet and the Sam Houston Tollway. Bank of America will build a new, 5,000 sf banking facility. Elizabeth Clampitt, with CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant in the transaction while Steve Bryant with Moody Rambin represented the owner.
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Garrity
James A. Garrity of Garrity Commercial Real Estate has coordinated the completion of the lease/purchase option transaction for property located at 829 Peakwood in Houston.This sale/purchase involved a 6,392 sf. professional medical office building at the northeast corner of Red Oak Drive and Peakwood Drive in the Northwest Medical Center on FM 1960.
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Boyd Commercial
Headworks Inc. purchased 5.1 acres of land for future development of a manufacuring and the headquarters building. The land is at Tanner Road and Windfern. The seller was MTZ and Gupta Investments. Andrew Sowell and Michael Boyd of Boyd Commercial represented the buyer. Marc Drumwright of Southwest Realty Advisors represented the seller.
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Nguyen
Tai Nguyen, a real estate broker, bought a 2,500-sf office building at 3700 Milam in the Midtown area of Houston for his company's office. A number Vietnamese-speaking business people have offices in the area. The seller of the building was American Industries Life Insurance Co., which was represented by Gloria Parrino of Betz Commercial Brokerage.
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Heights Armature Works
Heights Armature Works has purchased a 15,000-sf warehouse on 1.47 acres at 12250 Taylor Road in Houston. Gloria Parrino of Betz Commercial Brokerage represented the sellers, Bryan Huddleson and Michael Budworth. Walker Barnett of Colliers International represented the buyer.
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Hillwood Buys Major
Acreage in Houston
Dallas-based Hillwood has purchased the 3,827-acre Sienna Plantation South property in Fort Bend County near Houston. Plans for the site include approximately 7,000 single-family homes, as well as 300 acres for retail and commercial use. Hillwood also is setting aside 100 acres for schools and churches, as well as preserving more than 1,000 acres for parks and open spaces.
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Hines Starts New Tower
On Houston's Main Street
Hines, the international real estate firm has announced plans to develop MainPlace, a new 46-story, one million-sf office tower in downtown Houston at 811 Main Street. Construction activities by the general contractor, D.E. Harvey Builders, will commence immediately with the first tenants occupying the building in late 2010. The project will be a classic urban infill development, replacing one of the most blighted blocks in downtown with a signature high-rise office building that will spur redevelopment for blocks around and re-define the epicenter of downtown.
"Designing and building structures that are more efficient and self-sustaining make good business sense and will help the sustainability of our environment," said Mayor Bill White. "It's good to see Hines, with its strong Houston roots, setting the pace by building the first LEED-Silver skyscraper in our downtown district."
Jon Pickard, AIA, of Pickard Chilton, the building’s architect, notes, “Our design for MainPlace acknowledges the contemporary tradition of the Houston skyscraper while keeping with the historical tradition of Main Street’s classic architecture.”
MainPlace will be situated on Main Street on the block bordered by Fannin, Rusk and Walker streets, across from the 1929 Gulf Building (now the JPMorgan Chase building). MainPlace tenants will enjoy easy access to Houston’s mass transit system, including Metro’s light rail system on Main Street, and being located within four blocks of every major downtown attraction.
MainPlace will also continue Hines’ ongoing commitment to the environment and leadership in sustainable (or “green”) building design by being pre-certified at the silver level by the U.S. Green Building Council. In fact, Hines will develop the project through its Hines CalPERS Green (HCG) fund, a new fund that focuses exclusively on developing sustainable office buildings throughout the United States certifiable through the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Core and Shell (LEED-CS) program.
Designed by the nationally recognized architectural firm of Pickard Chilton, MainPlace will be clad in horizontal sunshades of glass and aluminum that will wrap around the building’s curved north and south façades. The west façade will be shaded from the low-glancing evening sunlight by vertical glass fins, which will soar 630 feet from Main Street’s sidewalk level to the crown of the tower. A signature feature of the tower will be a dramatic 39th floor sky garden recessed into the building’s form that reveals planted terraces and a five-story crystalline atrium. The sky garden will provide a meeting place during the day and define the tower on the night skyline with its glow.
A grand lobby with atrium located directly off of Main Street will offer a connection to Houston’s underground pedestrian tunnel system, linking MainPlace to office buildings, hotels and retail centers.
MainPlace will contain floor-to-ceiling windows that will maximize natural light in tenant spaces, as well as offering panoramic views of downtown to the south and west, and uninterrupted views to the east. Notched corners in the buildings structure will allow for eight corner offices per floor, as well as an abundance of daylight into interior corridors. Eighteen high-speed elevators will serve the office floors over three zones. An additional three elevators will service the nine-level parking garage, which will contain a total of 1,130 parking spaces.
“We think MainPlace’s sustainable features, superior location and unique design will make it a highly sought-after address in downtown,” said Hines Vice President John Mooz. “Since One Shell Plaza, Hines’ first downtown Houston office tower developed nearly 40 years ago, we have made significant investments in architecture that have transformed the city’s skyline while keeping in mind our commitment to green development. MainPlace will continue that tradition, and will add to our firm’s 50-year legacy of development in the city.”
Schematic design development will conclude in January 2008. Site preparation is underway, a ceremonial groundbreaking is slated for April 22, 2008 (Earth Day), and the grand opening is slated for Earth Day 2011, although some tenant occupancy will commence in late 2010.
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Uptown Parcels Purchased
Lewis Realty Advisors successfully represented the Uptown Development Authority in the acquisition of a number of parcels of urban land in a right-of-way acquisition program that will lead to improved traffic flow in Houston's thriving Uptown area.
The latest purchase in this effort is a parcel just east of the intersection of San Felipe and Post Oak Boulevard. The property, purchased from Rosario Messina Properties Ltd., had been used for retail customer parking.
Adding to a long list of Uptown transactions completed by Lewis Realty Advisors, the latest acquisition is one of four deals between Post Oak Boulevard and Garrettson Street
Westchase Building sold for $26M
Capmark Finance Inc. funded $24 million in interim financing for the $26 million acquisition of the Westchase Bank Building, an office property located in Houston. The 85 percent LTV loan has a three-year term. Situated on approximately 5.36 acres at 9801 Westheimer Street, the 11-story building features 208,643 sf of office space. Completed in 1981, the Westchase Bank Building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Occupied at 98 percent, major tenants include URS Corporations, World Cinema, Abby Executive Suites and KRBE Radio. Senior Vice President Jim Adams of the Capmark Finance Houston office originated the transaction, which closed in just 35 days from application. Younan Properties, an affiliate of Zaya Younan, was the borrower. |
Large Presidential Statues to Anchor Texas Destination
Mixed-use Development
Presidential Park at WaterLights, featuring large-scale 18-foot statues of all 42 U.S. presidents, is projected to draw 2 million people annually to a new entertainment/real estate development in the city of Pearland.
The presidential busts will be surrounded by pleasant water features and a navigable canal, said Richard Browne, principal of Historic Land Development LLC of Houston.
“The Presidential Park will provide an ideal setting for new restaurants and shops,” Browne said. “The presidential statues will be a significant tourism draw, creating a lot of customer traffic for the businesses that locate there.”
The presidential statues are the work of internationally acclaimed artist David Adickes. The Houston-based artist is known in Texas for his 67-foot statue of Texan legend Sam Houston on Interstate 45 near Huntsville.
Crow to Build CBD Tower
Trammell Crow Co. has acquired a full city block in Houston’s central business district where it will construct a 31-story office tower. The site, known as Block 126, will be the location for development of an office building known as Discovery Tower.
Situated on a high-profile site the future project will be located in the
heart of Houston’s Entertainment District and overlooking the new $93 million, 12-acre
downtown park, Discovery Green, currently under construction. The site is also in close
proximity to Houston Center, Four Seasons Hotel, Hilton Americas Hotel, Toyota Center,
Minute Maid Park, George R. Brown Convention Center, and One Park Place, a high rise
residential development under construction.
According to Aaron Thielhorn, a Principal with Trammell Crow: “Based on the improving market dynamics
in the Houston central business district, we made the decision late last year to pursue the best
available site downtown. Our site, overlooking Discovery Green, allows us to capitalize on the
heightened activity planned for this urban amenity. With the recent development around the
Church Land
Glenwood Baptist Church bought nine acres of land on Red Bluff Road. Jay Jenckes of Grubb & Ellis handled the sale.
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Major Development
in Downtown Houston
The Houston office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. has secured financing and joint venture equity for Houston Pavilions, a 544,000-sf mixed-use development underway in downtown Houston. HFF managing director Mark Sixour worked exclusively on behalf of the borrower, Houston Pavilions, L.P., to arrange a $120.59 million construction loan through North Houston Bank. Buchanan Street Partners provided $47 million in joint venture equity. Public grants from the CIty of Houston and Harris County totaling about $14 million also finance the project. The principals of Houston Pavilions, L.P. are Geoff Jones and William Denton. Denton is the president and CEO of Los Angeles-based Entertainment Development Group,, which develops urban retail and entertainment projects throughout the United States.
Due for completion in October 2008, Houston Pavilions will feature 350,000 sf of retail, 194,000 sf of office space and a 1,525-space parking garage. House of Blues, Lucky Strike Lanes, Books-a-Million and Forever 21 will anchor the center and other tenants will include McCormick & Schmick's, Red Cat Jazz Café and Antica Osteria. Houston Pavilions is situated on three city blocks in the center of Houston's central business district and has easy access to Minute Maid Park and Toyota Center.
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Clear Lake Area
Land Deal for Hotel
Bill Rowell, executive vice president of retail for Yancey-Hausman represented a private owner. in the sale of 4.5 Acres of land located at 300 West Bay Area Blvd. in Webster, TX. to Bay Area 4.5 Acres Ltd. Two acres of the land was then sold to Webster Hotel L.L.C. Rowell handled both transactions.
Rowell then represented Bay Area 4.5 Acres Ltd. in the resale of approximately 2 Acres of land located also at 300 West Bay Area Blvd. in Webster, TX. to Webster Hotel L.L.C.
Established in 1971, Yancey-Hausman currently has more than 60 employees in offices in Houston and Austin.
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League City Land
Magnolia Crossing 2005 bought 30.7 acres located on I-45, just south of the FM 646 intersection in League City, Texas. Simmi Jaggi and Elizabeth Clampitt of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller, Silvestri Investments of Florida, Inc.
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- Lewis Realty in Uptown
- Center Sold
- Energy Corridor Buildin Launched by CORE and Pru
- 1900 St. James Place
- Hines Refi on Downtown Tower
- Major New Center To Be Built in Pearland
- New Deals in The Woodlands
- Trammell Crow To Build Energy Corridor Offices
- Construction Boom: 1 Million SF in Park 10
- Hakeem Deal in Downtown
- Colliers Sale
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Tech Firm in The Woodlands click here
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Fox Building in The Woodlands click here
- Project with IMAX Begins in Tomball Area click here
- Welcome Wilson Group Buys Ft. Bend Project click here
- Insite Buys Stafford Offices click here
- Dresser Deal click here
- Office Market Strength: World Houston Plaza Makes Total Rebound click here
- Retail Deal click hereMedical Towers Sold click here
- Retail Center Sold click here
- Phoenix Tower in Greenway Sold to REIT's LP click here
- CDI Buys Tower in North Houston click here
- La Porte Project Sold click here
- Katy Freeway Deal click here
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Toni Nelson Joins Prudential click here
- Large Westpark Tract To Become Major
Community click here
- Young Farb Sells Apt. Site To Red McCombs Group
of SA click here
Wells Buys 5 Houston Center, Downtown Tower Built by Crescent click here
- Hines Sells 1100 Louisiana in A Major Downtown
Deal click here
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Two Centers Sold in The Woodlands click here
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New Projects Slated in First Colony's Lake Pointe click here
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Woodlands Building is Topped Out click here
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AstroWorld to Close - C&W to Market 109-acre site click here
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Houston Industrial Vacancy Reaches
3-Year Low click here -
Pearland Getting Mall, Foley's & Dillard's click here
- Henry Cisneros Speaks to ULI Inner-City
Conference click here
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Tech Firm in
The Woodlands
Optimum Computer Solutions (OCS), a technology consulting firm, has recently purchased an .87 of an acre site on Westridge Drive, just east of South Park Drive, according to Greg Jordan, director of commercial land sales for The Woodlands Development Company (TWDC). OCS will be located directly across from The Woodlands Express Park-N-Ride-Budde Road lot.
Owner and President of OCS, Raymond Duroy, a resident of The Woodlands, will relocate his 15-year old firm from its current Spring, Texas location to the new site in The Woodlands. Construction is underway on the 5,500-sf OCS office building.....................................................................
Fox Building in
The Woodlands
Fox Networks Group has begun construction of a technical facility on 30 acres of land on Research Forest Drive just east of Technology Forest Drive, in the commercial Research Forest area of The Woodlands, according to Dan Leverett, vice president, commercial for The Woodlands Development Company. The facility will manage transmissions for Fox’s many regional sports networks and other programming services.
The facility will be called Fox Network Center-Houston, and will encompass transmission services to the greater Houston metro area and throughout the United States. The project should be completed by the third quarter of 2007. Integration of technical equipment and move-in of personnel will begin in either the fourth quarter of 2007 or the first quarter of 2008.
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Project with IMAX Begins
In Tomball Area
John Santikos of San Antonio has started his first Houston development - Silverado Station, a 200,000 sf retail development located at the northwest corner of Highway 249 and Northpoint near the proposed Grand Parkway and the city of Tomball.
Silverado Station will feature a 5,000-seat, state-of-the-art, 19-screen, 100,000-sf movie megaplex with an additional 100,000 sf of entertainment, retail and restaurant space.
Designed by Hodges and Associates, Architects, the Silverado will feature a western theme for both the interior and exterior designs. It will include the latest digital projection and sound, as well as an IMAX theater, which will be only the second stand-alone IMAX in the Houston metropolitan area.
Based in San Antonio, Santikos Theatres was founded in 1914 and is one of the state's oldest theater companies. At the dawn of the silent movie era, John Santikos' father, Louis Santikos, a Greek immigrant and entrepreneur, began his career building and operating nickelodeons throughout the state. In 1924 he built the Palace Theatre, San Antonio's first opulent movie house, which was located across from the Alamo.
In addition, Santikos recently broke ground on several new real estate developments in the San Antonio area, including a 100-acre mixed-use retail and residential project called The Legacy.
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Welcome Wilson Group
Buys Ft. Bend Project
GSL Industrial, in partnership with AEW Value Investors, L.P., a value-added real estate fund managed by AEW Capital Management L.P., has purchased a 487,550-sf industrial property in Sugar Land, Texas, from Suntron Corp. Suntron has signed a long-term lease for half of the building.
John Wilson, GSL’s director of acquisitions, along with Chris Kazantis of AEW, represented the buyers. Bob Berry of Staubach represented Suntron. Financing was provided by Tucker Knight and Steve Henderson of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, LP. Jim Foreman and Beau Kaleel with Cushman & Wakefield will be marketing the remaining vacancy for lease.
The building, which sits on 40 acres at 1111 Gillingham in Sugar Land Business Park, is one of the largest industrial facilities in Fort Bend County and represents GSL's largest purchase to date. This property is a Class A industrial facility with features including heavy power, anti-static floors, back-up generators and battery rooms and high-finish office build-out.
Suntron delivers complete manufacturing services and solutions to support the entire life cycle of complex products of the electronic manufacturing services industry. The company, which is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, will lease back 247,600 sf of space in the building going forward as it continues to streamline operations to improve efficiency.
Houston-based GSL, the operating partner, will lease the remaining 239,950 sf to one or two companies.
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Insite Buys Stafford Offices
A partnership led by principals of InSite Realty Partners, L.P., a Houston-based, full-service real estate company, has purchased two office buildings at 10701 and 10707 Corporate Drive, Stafford. The seller was National Life Capital Management. The purchase price was undisclosed. InSite is planning an extensive renovation to the properties.
“Our acquisitions strategy involves identifying properties with upside potential, either in occupancy or overall return on investment. With their location in the fast-growing Fort Bend office market, these properties are an excellent fit for our diversified portfolio,” said Kris Van Norman, principal and partner of InSite.
Logan Brown of Grubb & Ellis, Houston, represented InSite Realty Partners in negotiations. Moody Rambin has leased and managed the buildings since 2004 and has been retained by InSite to continue those services. Steve Bryant and Kristine Lilly of Moody Rambin will handle leasing and Tonna Maloy will be the on-site property manager.
Located in the Sugar Land/Fort Bend office market, The Atrium Building at 10701 Corporate Drive is a 108,490-sf, three-story office building. The Churchill Building at 10707 Corporate Drive is a 74,655-sf, two-story office building. The properties are currently 54 percent leased. Both are Class B properties.
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Dresser Deal
Dallas-based Dresser, Inc.'s sold its 183,250 sf office warehouse facility in Houston to Texas Best Diesel. Dresser sold this property after consolidating three facilities into one facility in Houston.
Dresser, represented by Binswanger's J. Holmes Davis, IV, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of highly-engineered equipment and specialized services sold primarily to customers in energy-related industries. A global company, Dresser maintains a sales presence in over 100 countries and manufacturing or customer support facilities in 22 countries.
Purchasing the property due to a relocation and expansion, Texas Best Diesel sells a vast selection of trucks, tractors, buses, plus a large variety of diesel engines, transmissions, rear axle cut-offs, and other diesel parts.
The building is located at 1020 Rankin Road.
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Office Market Strength:
World Houston Plaza
Makes Total Rebound
Ninety days after Total Petrochemicals USA vacated 150,000 sf, 144,419 sf have been leased by three firms in World Houston Plaza, 15710 JFK Boulevard. KBS Realty Advisors, the landlord, negotiated a $7 million lease buyout for the early termination of the Total Petrochemicals’ lease. Weatherford International Ltd. has leased 84,439 sf to consolidate three offices. FMC Technologies, Inc. has leased 29,876 sf to relocate its Surface Wellhead business from 1777 Gears Road. The relocation is the result of FMC Technologies’ Subsea Systems’ expansion at the Gears Road facility. KRATON Polymers has leased 29,876 sf to relocate its headquarters from 700 Milam downtown. The Weatherford and Krayton Polymers deals are 11-year leases. The FMC Technologies lease is for seven years.
World Houston Plaza is an eight-story, 216,277-sf office building at 15710 JFK Boulevard near Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston.
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Retail Deal
An 80,000-sf retail property at 1801 South Dairy Ashford in west Houston has been sold. The seller was Richardson Ashford Village LP and the buyer was 1801 Dairy Ashford LLC. Gus Lagos and George Koucouthakis with Grubb & Ellis represented the buyer in the transaction.
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Medical Towers Sold
The Houston office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. has closed the sale of Medical Towers, a 154,950-sf office building in the Texas Medical Center in Houston.
HFF senior managing director Jim Savage and managing director Jeff Hollinden, along with managing director Robert Williamson, led the HFF sales team on behalf of the seller, Medical Towers, Ltd. A partnership between Means-Knaus, LLC and US Advisors purchased the property for an undisclosed amount. The building is subject to a long-term ground lease with affiliates of St. Luke's Hospital.
Medical Towers is located at 1709 Dryden Road within the Texas
Medical Center area between Main and Fannin Streets. Extensive renovations were completed in 2005 for the occupancy of Baylor College of Medicine, and as a result, the property has been renamed Baylor College of Medicine Faculty Center. In addition to a Metro light rail stop in front of the building, retail amenities include Starbucks, Chipotle, Amegy Bank, CVS and Cingular.
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CDI Buys Tower
in North Houston
Commercial Developments International (CDI), a New York based real estate developer and investor, has acquired Northborough Tower. CDI’s purchase of the project marks their return to Houston where, among other things, it previously owned and successfully repositioned the 1800 West Loop South and 700 Rusk buildings.
Built in 1983 and renovated in 1991, Northborough Tower is a 208,000 sf office building located at 100 Glenborough Drive in Houston ’s North Belt West/Greenspoint submarket. The building is fully occupied with primarily investment grade tenants.
CDI plans to upgrade the building’s systems and appearance through a capital improvement program over the next several months.
CDI has retained Transwestern Commercial Services to manage and lease the project.
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AstroWorld to Close -
C&W to Market 109-acre site
Six Flags Inc. has announced that it will permanently close its AstroWorld theme park in Houston at the end of the 2005 season, and that it has engaged Cushman & Wakefield to market the 109-acre site to the real estate development community. The sale is subject to the approval of Six Flags' bank lenders.
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Henry Cisneros Speaks to ULI Inner-City Conference
Former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros was the keynote speaker at The Houston District Council of the Urban Land Institute's Urban Marketplace program.
Urban Marketplace 2005 aims to spark interest in inner-city development and provide tools for growth by promoting investment opportunities and development strategies.
RealtyNewsReport Editor Ralph Bivins
and former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros. Cisneros was the keynote
speaker at a ULI event in Houston.
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