Greater Waco’s economy is on a roll. Positioned halfway between Dallas and Austin, Waco is a prime destination for companies and individuals wanting access to large metro areas without the hassles of traffic, expensive real estate and labor shortages. With newly completed facilities such as Baylor University’s McLane Stadium and major downtown redevelopment projects, Waco is hitting the radar for new development opportunities. October 2015 marked 43 months of positive economic growth for the area, with 4.8 percent growth in the third quarter of 2015 alone. Major organizations, including Baylor, continue to aid in elevating the status of Waco as a dominant player in the Central Texas region. Just as Texas has seen significant growth since 2008, so too has Waco. One major contributor to Waco’s economic success has been employment growth. Employers are creating new jobs in the area, with 1,600 more positions now in place, 113,700 compared to 112,100 in October 2014. Construction, manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality and logistics remain strong drivers for the economy. The result is a community with a 4.8 percent unemployment rate and residents with more disposable income. In fact, real median household income for the Waco MSA grew 5.8 percent, to $43,184, between the …
LEWISVILLE, TEXAS — Bright Realty has held a topping out ceremony for its upcoming multifamily project known as Discovery at The Realm. The first of Discovery at The Realm’s 423 apartment units are on track to deliver in April. The topping out party celebrated the completion of the three apartment buildings’ major structural and environmental construction, which includes a lake with promenade pedestrian access. Members of Bright Realty development, leasing and marketing teams, general contractor Andres Construction, project architects from Charlotte, N.C.’s LandDesign, local officials and Bright Realty’s business partners attended the celebration. Bright Realty begins pre-leasing activities for Discovery at The Realm later this month as interior finish work begins. Located south of Windhaven Parkway at Castle Hills Drive in Lewisville, Discovery at The Realm’s first phase features three podium-style buildings on 20.4 acres. All Phase I units should be delivered by October. Total project costs are $75 million. Discovery at The Realm is the first project in The Realm at Castle Hills, a mixed-use project to be built along State Highway 121 frontage. At completion, Discovery at The Realm will include more than 4,000 apartment units, with another 800 units planned within other parts of The Realm at …
SAN ANTONIO — Draper and Kramer, a Chicago-based real estate property and financial services company, has acquired the Sonterra Blue apartment community in San Antonio. Carleton Residential Properties was the seller. Located at 922 E. Sonterra Blvd. in San Antonio’s Stone Oak submarket, Sonterra Blue includes 342 units offering 17 one-, two-, and three- bedroom floor plans. Built in 2014, the 304,152-square-foot property is situated on a 14-acre site located across from Methodist Stone Oak Hospital. Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) managed the transaction on behalf of the seller.
PHILADELPHIA — HFF has arranged $88 million in financing for The Left Bank, an apartment complex in Philadelphia. The firm placed the five-year, fixed-rate loan with a regional community bank for the borrower, Dranoff Properties. Located at 3131 Walnut St., The Left Bank features 282 apartment units in a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts averaging 971 square feet. Community amenities include a lobby, sky deck, landscaped courtyard, fitness center, business center, community conference rooms, clubroom with catering kitchen, bike storage and 24-hour concierge service. The property also includes 98,707 square feet of office space and 22,605 square feet of retail, both of which are 100 percent occupied. Jim Cadranell and Ryan Ade of HFF arranged the financing for the borrower.
NEW YORK — The national apartment vacancy rate climbed 10 basis points in the fourth quarter to 4.4 percent, according to Reis. This marked the second consecutive quarter that vacancy ticked up for the multifamily sector, something that hasn’t happened since the third and fourth quarters of 2009. Ryan Severino, senior economist and director of research at New York-based Reis, believes that the two-quarter decline represents a turning point in the U.S. apartment market. “With construction outpacing demand, the national vacancy rate should slowly drift higher over the coming years,” writes Severino in the report. Reis reports that while demand and supply have been largely in balance between mid-2013 and mid-2015, that has started to change over the last two quarters. Construction exceeded absorption by 12,350 units in the third quarter and 15,263 units in the fourth quarter. For comparison, construction only exceeded demand by 3,471 units in the second quarter. “With construction continuing to increase and net absorption generally stabilizing, this rift should continue to widen over time putting further upward pressure on the national vacancy rate,” writes Severino. For 2015, the total number of units completed was 188,306, according to Reis. This is the highest figure since 1999 when the total was …
MIRAMAR, FLA. — CBRE has brokered the sale of Modera Town Center, a new 487-unit, Class A multifamily asset located at 11575 City Hall Promenade in the Miami suburb of Miramar. CIP II/MRCT Miramar Town Center LLC, a joint venture between CrossHarbor Capital Partners and Mill Creek Residential Trust, sold the asset to Miramar Apartment Co. for $120 million. The property is located within the 54-acre, master-planned Miramar Town Center, which includes mix of 320,000 square feet of office, retail and civic buildings. “Anchored by the 6 million-square-foot Miramar Park of Commerce, the Miramar address represents one of Broward County’s largest and most sought-after office and industrial markets,” says Robert Given, vice chairman of CBRE Multifamily. The property is 88 percent leased with an average market rent of $1.78 per square foot. Modera Town Center consists of 353 units in two midrise buildings and a mix of 134 two- and three-bedroom townhomes. Interior finishes include granite countertops, ceramic tile flooring, espresso cabinets, stainless-steel GE appliances, accessories, tile backsplash, full-size washer and dryer and knockdown finishes on the walls and ceiling. All units feature covered parking via a parking garage for the midrise units or direct access garages in the townhomes. …
PRINCETON, TEXAS — NOVUS Realty Advisors’ Tom Grunnah has completed the sale 11 acres for client and former property owner Wells Fargo Bank NA. The land is located at the southwest corner of the US Highway 380 and Cypress Bend intersection, just east of downtown McKinney in Princeton. The buyer, F&L LLP, plans to divide the property and sell commercial pad sites to end users.
NEW YORK CITY — TerraCRG has arranged the sale of a mixed-use building located at 128-130 Cortelyou Road in Brooklyn’s Kensington neighborhood. Sugar Hill Capital Partners acquired the two-story, eight-unit building for $2.2 million, or approximately $316 per square foot. The property features five ground-floor commercial units and three three-bedroom units on the upper level. Additionally, the property features approximately 4,800 buildable square feet as of right. Adam Hess, Sam Shalumov, Eddie Setton and Kirill Galperin of TerraCRG were the sole brokers in the transaction.
LOS ANGELES — TruAmerica Multifamily has acquired the 395-unit Millennium apartment community in the Los Angeles submarket of Woodland Hills for $163 million. The luxury community is located at 21021 W. Erwin St. within the Warner Center district. The property will be rebranded as the Motif. This is the sixth multifamily acquisition in Los Angeles County for TruAmerica, and the second-largest single-asset purchase for the Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm. CBRE’s Brian Eisendrath and Cameron Chalfant arranged acquisition financing with a 10-year, fixed-rate loan.
PHOENIX — BH Properties has received a $97 million credit facility to refinance a multifamily portfolio in the Phoenix area. The portfolio contains 12 properties and about 3,000 apartment units. The Bank of America Merrill Lynch credit facility replaces multiple existing loans with various lenders. The properties average a 93 percent occupancy rate.