The Denver office market remains strong. Vacancy continued to compress in 2019 as rental rates and sale prices forged ahead to the highest levels in history, allowing landlords and sellers to remain in control of the market. Class A office transactions accounted for $1.7 billion in office sales in Denver Metro over the past year, versus $1.2 billion of Class B office sales, with average market cap rates of 6.6 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Interestingly enough, vacancy rates are higher in Class A product at 11.7 percent versus 10.1 percent in Class B. Sale prices and rental rates continued to grow in both classes. However, there was a significant difference in rental rate and sale price numbers as Class B lagged by about 20 percent to 25 percent in both categories. With a potential downturn looming, it begs the question, is Class A or Class B office a better long-term value? Considering rental rates and income are a direct derivative of what investors will pay for office buildings, investors must ask themselves whether rental rates are sustainable. It is apparent that the “chase” for the cool, hip, new Class A office is real, but the question is whether Class …
HARKER HEIGHTS, TEXAS — JLL has negotiated the sale of Market Heights Shopping Center, a 417,167-square-foot regional lifestyle center in the Central Texas city of Harker Heights. Built in 2008, the property sits on 62.2 acres and was 89.4 percent leased at the time of sale. Tenants include Cinemark, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Barnes & Noble, Ross Dress for Less, Old Navy, Petco, Ulta Beauty and Bed Bath & Beyond. Adam Howells of JLL represented the undisclosed institutional seller in the off-market transaction, and procured the buyer, Direct Retail Partners. Mark Brandenburg and Tim Jordan of JLL arranged a four-year, floating-rate acquisition loan for the buyer through Bayview Asset Management.
RICHMOND, TEXAS — Locally based builder CJ Development has purchased 42.6 acres at Grand Parkway and West Bellfort Street in the northern Houston suburb of Richmond for a commercial project that will be named Grand Center at Long Meadow Farms. The company previously purchased an adjacent 15-acre tract, creating a total of 58 acres for the new development. The project will feature a 46,000-square-foot retail center, and other tracts will be sold to individual buyers for various uses. Retail tenants that have committed to the center include Members Choice Credit Union, Spring Creek BBQ, Pet Suites, Service First and 7-Eleven. Chris Bergmann Jr. of JLL represented the undisclosed seller in the disposition of the land. Alan Chodrow of Chodrow Realty Advisors represented CJ Development. NewQuest Properties is handling leasing of the project.
PASADENA, TEXAS — United Equities will develop Phase II of Beltway-225 Business Park, an industrial project that fronts Beltway 8 in the eastern Houston suburb of Pasadena. Phase I of the project delivered 85,500 square feet, and the first two completed buildings of that phase have been leased to Cooper Valves (21,000 square feet) and PTR Holland Maritime (18,500 square feet). Travis Land and Michael Keegan of NAI Partners represented United Equities in both lease negotiations. Phase II of the project, a construction timeline for which was not released, will include two tilt-wall buildings totaling 46,000 square feet.
HOUSTON — Occidental Petroleum Corp. has signed a 91,986-square-foot office lease expansion at Three Greenway Plaza in Houston. The energy giant now occupies more than 972,000 square feet at the 52-acre Greenway Plaza campus, which serves as its U.S. headquarters. Brandon Clarke, Charles Gordon, Steve Hesse and Ryan Roth of CBRE represented Occidental in the lease negotiations. Rima Soroka represented the landlord, Parkway, on an internal basis.
HOUSTON — LMI Capital, a Real Estate Capital Alliance (RECA) member, has arranged an $8 million bridge loan for the acquisition of a 150-unit apartment community in the Houston area. The loan was structured with an 80 percent loan-to-value ratio and 2.5 years of interest-only payments. The financing includes proceeds to fund a capital improvement program. Brandon Brown of LMI Capital placed the loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower. The lender and property name were also not disclosed.
ATLANTA — Georgia World Congress Center Authority (GWCCA) has opened Exhibit Hall BC, a 100,000-square-foot expansion creating more than 1 million square feet of contiguous exhibition space within Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta. The project’s budget was $55 million. The expansion brings Georgia World Congress Center’s total exhibit hall space to more than 1.4 million square feet. GWCCA reports that more than 20 events have already booked a spot in the new exhibit space, with dates stretching into 2030. Georgia World Congress Center is situated within a mile of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Centennial Olympic Park, CNN Studios, State Farm Arena, Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca-Cola. Atlanta-based general contractor Holder Construction Co. completed the expansion in 18 months.
JACKSON, TENN. — A partnership between DRA Advisors and RCG Ventures has sold West Towne Commons, a 180,960-square-foot retail center in Jackson. The property was 97 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including T.J. Maxx, Five Below, Dollar Tree, Petco, Stein Mart and Office Max. Academy Sports + Outdoors, Kroger and Target shadow-anchor the site, which is situated at 41 Stonebrook Place, seven miles north of downtown Jackson. Jim Hamilton, Brad Buchanan and Mike Allison of JLL represented the seller in the transaction. An affiliate of Yale Realty Services Corp. acquired the property for an undisclosed price.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of Promenade at Carillon, a 334-unit multifamily community in St. Petersburg. Promenade at Carillon comprises 13 three-story buildings offering a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities include a pool with sundeck, outdoor grilling area, dog park and a renovated clubhouse/leasing center with resident lounge, business center and a fitness facility. Furthermore, the property encircles a nature preserve. The property is situated on 15 acres at 540 Carillon Parkway, 15 miles west of downtown Tampa. Robert Given, Capas, Michael Mulkern, Nicholas Meoli, Michael Donaldson, Jay Ballard, Ken Delvillar, Zachary Sackley, Troy Ballard, Calum Weaver, Errol Blumer, Neal Victor, James Quinn and Perry Synanidis of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Boston-based TA Realty, in the transaction. Robert Kaplan, Chris Lentz and Mark Rutherford of Cushman & Wakefield arranged acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer, Toronto-based Starlight Investments. Further details of the transaction and financing were not disclosed.
GAINESVILLE, FLA. — NorthMarq has provided a $26.1 million Fannie Mae refinancing loan for College Park at Midtown, a 300-bed student housing community serving the University of Florida in Gainesville. The property offers one-, two- and four-bedroom, fully furnished units. Lamar Sarra of NorthMarq originated the financing, which features a 10-year term with a 30-year amortization schedule, on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.