AUSTIN, TEXAS — KDC, in a joint venture with SH 71-130 Holdings GP, will develop a 100-acre parcel for build-to-suit office space in southeast Austin. The new office space will be part of a planned 390-acre mixed-use project at the intersection of Texas Highway 71 and State Highway 130. In addition to the office component, the mixed-use project will also include retail, multifamily, industrial and educational elements. It has received the Triple Freeport Designation, which allows schools, cities and counties to exempt business inventory from taxes if goods are shipped out of state within 175 days. Page is coordinating the architectural planning, and Kimley-Horn is the engineer.
The real estate capital markets are a funny thing — one minute you’re up and the next you’re down. The debt market starts making investors bring more equity to the table, reserves tied to energy-related tenancy are mandated, the four-letter word “recourse” is thrown around and more scrutiny is placed on every detail. No one wants to be laughed out of a committee meeting for trying to push through a multi-million dollar loan on an office building in the Energy Capital of the World. The same holds true in the equity market. Return requirements that fluctuate along the risk/return spectrum haven’t changed, but underwriting scrutiny has. Market rent growth has been scaled back or even gone negative, energy-related tenancy is being given a lower retention ratio or being downsized, downstream tenancy is more favorable than upstream tenancy, mark-to-market value-add strategies have been replaced with income preservation strategies, etc. Individually, these various reactions in the debt and equity market don’t have a huge impact on values. Combined, they have a material impact. You would think that this environment would bring about great opportunities for investors with a long-term, bullish view on Houston’s office market. Instead, most owners will be patient, electing …
CHICAGO — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a nine-building medical office portfolio in Chicago. A joint venture fund managed by Chicago-based MBRE Healthcare acquired the 401,428-square-foot portfolio for $131 million. The portfolio includes an 86,503-square-foot medical facility in Morton Grove, Ill.; a 60,500-square-foot property in Des Plaines, Ill.; and a 40,011-square-foot building in Chicago. Tenants of the portfolio include the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute (IBJI), Advocate Health Care, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Resurrection Health Care (Presence Health), Metro Infectious Disease Consultants and Pain Specialists of Greater Chicago. John Smelter, Scott Niedergang Gino Lollio of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a partnership consisting of a local developer and a number of physicians affiliated with IBJI, and procured the buyer in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — USAA Real Estate Co. has partnered with Waterman Interests LLC to acquire two mid-block office properties in Manhattan’s Times Square South market for an undisclosed sum. Known as the Midtown West Collection, the portfolio includes the 10-story, 91,466-square-foot property at 234 West 39th St. and the 17-story, 118,338-square-foot building located at 142 West 36th St. The assets are located within walking distance from Times Square and Herald Square subway hubs, as well as the 34th Street retail corridor and Hudson Yards, which is slated to come online in 2016. Terms of the transaction were not released.
NEW YORK CITY — HFF has arranged a $38.1 million preferred equity investment in an office property located at 95 Morton St. in Manhattan’s Midtown South neighborhood. HFF worked on behalf of the owner, Brickman, to secure the preferred equity through a national REIT for the 205,000-square-foot Class A property. The capital will be used to complement existing low-leverage financing, support further lease-up and allow for additional base building capital improvements. Originally built in 1911, the property was renovated in 2000 and is 88 percent occupied by a variety of technology, advertising, media and information tenants. Jay Marshall, Christopher Peck and David Fowler of HFF secured the financing for the borrower.
BOSTON — ELV Associates has sold the Long Wharf, a two-building office and retail property in Boston, to Capital Properties for $34 million. Totaling 77,600 square feet, Long Wharf comprises the five-story Custom House Block and the adjacent four-story Gardiner Building. At the time of sale, the property was 98 percent occupied by a variety of tenants, including AECOM and Chart House restaurant. Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, Matt Pullen, Geoffrey Millerd and Justin Smith of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction.
SAN ANTONIO — Rendina Healthcare Real Estate has acquired Physicians Plaza II, a 63,905-square-foot medical office building on the campus of the Methodist Specialty & Transplant Hospital (MSTH) in San Antonio. The facility is located within the 900-acre South Texas Medical Center. Rendina’s immediate plans for the property include suite and common area renovations. MSTH, which has direct access to Physicians Plaza II via a covered walkway, is home to the Texas Transplant Institute, the busiest kidney transplant program in Texas and among the top 10 in the nation.
DALLAS — HFF has secured financing for three buildings totaling 3.3 million square feet in the Dallas Market Center. HFF worked on behalf of Crow Holdings to secure the loan for the World Trade Center and Dallas Trade Mart through Goldman Sachs Mortgage Co., and the financing for the International Trade Plaza through Commercial Bank. Composed of the World Trade Center, Dallas Trade Mart, International Trade Plaza and Market Hall, the 110-acre Dallas Market Center (DMC) is the largest wholesale market center in the world, totaling more than 5.5 million square feet. More than 1,200 tenants in categories including women’s, men’s and children’s fashion and accessories, jewelry, lighting, rugs, home accents and toys rent space in the DMC buildings. The buildings are located at 2000, 2050 and 2100 Stemmons Freeway (Interstate 35) in northwestern Dallas close to Dallas-Love Field airport. Market Hall is not included in the financing. Jody Thornton, Andy Scott, Jim Curtin and Gay Thomas led the HFF debt placement team representing the borrower.
GLENDALE, ARIZ. – Dunbar Real Estate Investment Management has purchased Arrowhead Business Center, a 43,915-square-foot office campus in Glendale, for $7 million. The three-building campus is located at 7025, 7055 and 7075 West Bell Road. It was 88.9 percent occupied at closing. Dunbar purchased the asset through its investment advisor AEGON USA Realty Advisors LLC. The seller, Warranty of America, was represented by DTZ’s Bob Buckley, Tracy Cartledge, Steve Lindley and Ben Geelan.
IRVINE, CALIF. – LoanDepot has doubled the size of its largest online direct-lending production center in Orange County. The consumer lender increased its space from 131,267 square feet to 238,732 square feet. It now maintains a total of 885,162 square feet of office space nationwide. The company has direct-lending production centers in Plano, Texas, Brentwood, Tenn., and Scottsdale, Ariz. The company also plans to hire an additional 1,000 employees.