HOUSTON — LMI Capital has closed three acquisition loans totaling $9.5 million for two apartment communities and one office building located throughout the greater Houston area. The properties include a 65-unit apartment asset in Galveston County, an 80-unit apartment community in the Spring Branch submarket and a 23,000-square-foot office building located near The Woodlands. Kurt Dennis of LMI Capital placed the loans for the Galveston and Woodlands properties and Jamie Mullin of LMI Capital placed the loan for the Spring Branch property.
Trade and politics are nothing new for El Paso, Texas and its sister city Ciudad (Cd.) Juarez, Mexico. The history of the region is rooted in the interrelationship between two countries, three states and a trading route that originally ran from Mexico City to Santa Fe along the Camino Real. Today, international trade and political fights from elsewhere still have a considerable influence on what locals are talking about. But the regional industrial market continues to thrive by staying well below the radar. Despite concerns of imminent steel tariffs, restructuring of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the construction of an expanded border wall, the regional industrial economy keeps humming along, bringing the real estate market along with it. For industrial real estate tenants, the lure of a globally competitive workforce in Cd. Juarez and a link to the U.S. transportation infrastructure in El Paso makes this region a beacon for industrial users across the world. Triangle of Trade Take a two-hour drive along the loop highway circling El Paso, Cd. Juarez and Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and you will find an eye-opening list of international companies with industrial footprints. Foxconn from Taiwan, Polygroup from China, Bosch from Germany …
KYLE, TEXAS — Dallas-based Hillwood Properties and Austin-based HPI Real Estate Services will develop Hays Commerce Center, a 400,000-square-foot industrial development situated on 108 acres in Kyle, a southern suburb of Austin. The property, which will be located along the Interstate 35 corridor near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, is being developed on a speculative basis. Construction of Building I, a 220,000-square-foot asset, is expected to be complete by the fourth quarter.
GARLAND, TEXAS —Stream Data Centers, the Dallas-based data center arm of Stream Realty Partners, will develop DFW VII, a 400,000-square-foot data center campus in Garland. The first phase will deliver a 140,000-square-foot, expandable data center that is slated for completion late this year. The campus will be situated on 22.6 acres on Lookout Drive and feature two 40 MW utility feeds.
IRVING, TEXAS — A partnership between Dallas-based development firm Jackson-Shaw and Boston-based investment firm GID has broken ground on Parc SouthWest, a 292,700-square-foot industrial project in Irving. Situated on 28 acres, the Class A development will consist of two buildings totaling 112,200 and 180,500 square feet. Parc SouthWest will be marketed to tenants seeking 20,000- to 60,000-square-foot spaces with 30- to 32-foot clear heights and abundant trailer storage and car parking. Ridgemont Commercial Construction is serving as general contractor for the project, which is slated for a fourth-quarter completion. GSR Andrade is designing the property, and Stream Realty Partners will lease and manage it.
MURPHY AND WATAUGA, TEXAS — Venture Commercial has brokered the sale of Albertsons grocery stores totaling 123,737 square feet in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metros of Murphy and Watauga. The 62,322-square-foot Murphy store anchors the Shops of Murphy retail center, and the 61,415-square-foot Watauga store anchors the Shops of Watauga retail center. John Zikos and Charlotte Cooper of Venture Commercial represented Albertsons LLC, which owns the stores, in the transaction. Sean Porter of Capstone Commercial Real Estate Group represented the buyer, 356 Development LLC.
SAN ANTONIO — JLL has arranged the sale of Villa de Oro, a 150-unit multifamily community located in southwest San Antonio. Situated on roughly five acres, the property consists of eight three-story buildings and features amenities such as a clubhouse, grilling area, pool and a playground. C.W. Sheehan of JLL secured an undisclosed amount of acquisition financing for the transaction on behalf of Achieve Investment Group, an Austin-based investment firm. Moses Siller of JLL brokered the sale.
HOUSTON — After several years of sluggish rent growth, heavy concessions and tepid absorption brought on by the oil slump, investors are returning to Houston’s multifamily market with quite a bang. Rent growth and absorption were particularly weak in the city’s Class A multifamily space over the past few years. But with oil prices stabilizing (currently at about $68 per barrel of West Texas intermediate crude) and overall population growth still booming, multifamily investors are rethinking their positions on the Bayou City. “For the past two or three years, capital had been going elsewhere,” said Bruce McClenny, president of Houston-based research firm Apartment Data Services, during his keynote address at the second annual InterFace Houston Multifamily conference. “But that’s about to change.” Panelists at the event agreed that Houston’s construction pipeline for new apartments is thinning, stabilized properties are being brought to market and sellers are seeing more bids on assets they’re marketing. All this activity points to a previously overbuilt market turning the corner. Multifamily developers, lenders and brokers discussed these trends and others at the conference, held on Tuesday, April 17 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Houston’s Galleria neighborhood. The event drew about 150 real estate professionals. …
FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS — JPI has broken ground on Jefferson Alpha West, a 409-unit apartment community in Farmers Branch. The four-story property will be located within the Alpha + Inwood mixed-use development, which will include a 155-room ALOFT hotel, 296,000 square feet of office space and 22,000 square feet of retail space. Residential amenities will include a pool, rooftop lounge, clubhouse and a dog park. Occupancy at Jefferson Alpha West is scheduled for the end of 2019 and completion of the project is slated for mid-2020.
BAYTOWN, TEXAS — Houston-based E.E. Reed Construction LP has completed a 712,740-square-foot warehouse/distribution center situated on 170 acres in the eastern Houston suburb of Baytown. Built on behalf of Ravago Americas, a supplier of rubber and plastic, the property features a tilt-wall configuration, 30,000 square feet of office space, a 200-car railyard and a truck maintenance facility. Houston-based Powers Brown Architecture designed the property.