IRVING, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Walnut Hill Business Park II, a 28,339-square-foot industrial building located at 1600 Corporate Court in Irving. Built in 1982, the property is situated on two acres about 13 miles west of Dallas. The buyer and seller were both private investors. Adam Abushagur of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction.
OKLAHOMA CITY — CBRE has arranged a 56,000-square-foot industrial lease at 3100 N. Meridian Ave. in Oklahoma City. The tenant, Made by Influence LLC, leased the space from landlord USA Prop Management LLC. Randy Lacey of CBRE’s Oklahoma City office represented the landlord in the lease negotiations.
DALLAS — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has secured a long-term lease renewal at Fountain Place, a 60-story office building in Dallas that recently underwent a $70 million redevelopment. The tenant is Commerce Street Holdings LLC, the holding company for Commerce Street Capital LLC. The company will retain its office on the 27th floor of Fountain Place, which is located at 1445 Ross Ave. in the city’s Arts District. Jim Cooksey, Paxton Cooksey, Garrison Efird and Louis Pascuzzi of NKF represented Commerce Street Holdings in the lease transaction. Atlanta-based Goddard Investment Group owns and operates the office tower, which includes four new restaurants, a dry cleaner, Wells Fargo bank branch, onsite training center, car wash, sundry shop, tenant lounge and an 8,000-square-foot fitness center.
The office market in metropolitan Washington, D.C., is currently differentiated between a vigorous investment sales market and anemic leasing fundamentals. According to data from CoStar Group and Cushman & Wakefield, office investment sales have averaged $8.4 billion annually from 2014 to 2018 versus $5.5 billion annually from 2008 to 2013. Investment sales in the District have been dominated by Class A and trophy assets with little leasing risk, while demand is buoyed by foreign capital sources. In Northern Virginia, sales have trended toward core-plus and value-add investments led by domestic buyers seeking additional yield. Investors are more comfortable with leasing risk in Northern Virginia due to its robust job growth, a trend likely to continue given the jurisdiction’s comparative advantages in cloud computing, cybersecurity and internet infrastructure. Amazon’s selection of Crystal City for HQ2 and Amazon Web Services’ large block leasing in the Dulles Toll Road corridor are emblematic of these larger regional trends. However, there are signs that investment demand may have peaked for the current cycle. This year’s sales volume is the weakest in several years despite an influx of closings in September to beat Washington, D.C.’s increase to the transfer and recordation taxes from 2.9 percent to …
CONROE, TEXAS — American Furniture Warehouse (AFW) has purchased 30 acres of land at Interstate 45 and River Plantation Drive in Conroe, about 40 miles north of Houston. AFW plans to build a mega store at the site spanning 443,375 square feet. The store will include 150,000 square feet of showroom space and 293,375 square feet of warehouse/storage for merchandise. This will be the third AFW location in the metro Houston area, joining a recently opened store in Webster spanning 355,000 square feet and a 500,000-square-foot store coming to Katy in April. Ben Brown of Baker Katz, a partner firm of X Team International, represented AFW in the land acquisition. Mark Terpstra of Caldwell Cos. represented the seller, Gross Land Fund I LP.
PLANO, TEXAS — Cawley Partners, an office real estate investment and development firm based in Dallas, has purchased 5501 Headquarters, a three-story, 169,179-square-foot office building in Plano’s Legacy submarket. Situated near the Dallas North Tollway, the office serves as the corporate headquarters of Rent-A-Center, a rent-to-own furniture and electronics retailer. Rent-A-Center sold the asset to Cawley Partners for an undisclosed price and will remain in roughly 60 percent of the building on the east side. About 70,000 square feet of office space is coming available at 5501 Headquarters in April. Cawley Partners plans to modernize the 2007-era property for multiple tenants. Updates are planned for the lobby, restrooms, fitness center and conference rooms, and Cawley Partners plans to add an upscale convenience market and tenant lounge. Additionally the land off Headquarters Drive has future development opportunities, according to Cawley Partners.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Barings and B&Z Development LLC plan to break ground on 701 Rio in west downtown Austin next Wednesday, Jan. 8. Situated in the Original Austin Neighborhood at Rio Grande and 7th streets, 701 Rio will span 120,983 square feet of office space across five floors. JLL is leasing the property on behalf of the ownership group. The design team includes architect BGK and Colorado-based general contractor Hensel Phelps. Barings, a subsidiary of MassMutual, is a $335 billion global asset management firm.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Stonelake Capital Partners has closed on the purchase of an 18-building industrial portfolio in Austin totaling nearly 530,000 square feet. The seller was the McWane Family of Cos., an iron products manufacturer based in Birmingham, Ala. Stonelake Capital purchased the portfolio for an undisclosed price in an off-market transaction via its Stonelake Opportunity Partners V LP fund. Stonelake Capital is now one of the largest industrial landlords in Austin, with a 25-building portfolio spanning more than 850,000 square feet. Travis Eickenhorst and Cole Wilson lead the company’s Austin investment strategy.
DALLAS — Metropolitan Capital Advisors (MCA) has arranged two loans to finance RedBird Development Group’s redevelopment of RedBird Mall, an enclosed regional mall in southwest Dallas formerly known as Southwest Center Mall. MCA arranged a $7.1 million acquisition loan through Dallas-based Graham Mortgage for the mall’s former Sears department store. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern) has agreed to lease the entire 150,000-square-foot wing of the mall. The new RedBird Medical Center is slated to open in 2021. MCA also arranged a $12.7 million construction loan to finance the redevelopment of the former Dillard’s department store that will be occupied by medical office and job training users including Parkland Hospital, Work Ready U and Work Force Solutions. Origin Bank provided the construction loan. The Growth South Fund, a private equity fund that targets south Dallas, also provided financing for RedBird’s Mall redevelopment. RedBird Development Group is an entity headed by Peter Brodsky, Terrence Maiden and Jon Cochran. The new RedBird Mall will feature 300,000 square feet of office space, 400,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, apartments and a Courtyard by Marriott. Palladium USA is building the multifamily component, according to The Dallas Morning News.
ROCKLEDGE, FLA. — Baltimore-based Continental Realty Corp. (CRC) has sold Polo Glen Apartments, a 252-unit multifamily community, to an undisclosed buyer for $55.3 million. Located at 3603 Middleburg Lane in Rockledge, Polo Glen is situated on the Space Coast near Cocoa Beach. Scott Ramey and Patrick Dufour of Newmark Knight Frank’s Multifamily Capital Markets team represented CRC in the transaction. Constructed in 2008, the complex offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. CRC acquired Polo Glen in 2016 for $38 million from Atlanta-based Pollack Shores Real Estate Group. CRC implemented capital improvements during its ownership, including painting the community exterior and renovating interior units, the clubhouse, leasing office, business center and fitness center, which now features a Peloton bike studio.
