AUSTIN, TEXAS — AMC Theatres and publicly traded retail REIT Seritage Growth Properties will develop AMC Tech Ridge 10, a 10-screen, 45,000-square-foot movie theatre in Austin. The theater will feature more than 1,000 AMC Signature Recliners and a MacGuffin’s adult beverage concept. Construction on the theater, which is scheduled to open in 2019, will begin later this year.
HOUSTON — Arch-Con Corp. has completed construction of the Northwest Alliance Ministries (NAM) Harrell Family Opportunity Center, a 32,000-square-foot community center in Houston that will provide space for hosting career fairs, conferences and job training sessions. The two-story property features meeting rooms that can accommodate more than 300 people, a food preparation area and a new computer lab. NAM is a nonprofit social work agency that serviced 114,000 people in Houston last year.
DALLAS — Rainier Realty Investments has acquired Wheatland Towne Crossing, a 207,669-square-foot retail center located near the intersection of Interstate 20 and U.S. Highway 67 in Dallas. Shadow-anchored by Target and Aldi, the property was 92 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Party City, Office Depot, PetSmart and Dollar Tree. Sunny Sajnani of Metropolitan Capital Advisors arranged a $23 million, floating-rate bridge loan on behalf of Rainier for the acquisition of the center.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Hunt Mortgage Group has arranged $27.7 million in refinancing for a pair of retail centers in Austin. The company arranged $11.2 million for The Linc, a 178,743-square-foot center situated on 15.6 acres at 6406 N. Interstate 35 Frontage Road and $16.5 million for The Crescent, an 117,980-square-foot property situated on 12.3 acres at 6929 and 6903 Airport Blvd. Both loans, which were arranged on behalf of California-based development firm Misuma Holdings, are structured as 36-month, floating-rate deals.
HOUSTON — NAI Partners has negotiated a 227,000-square-foot industrial lease at 6501 Navigation Blvd. in Houston. Clay Pritchett of NAI Partners represented the landlord, Quasar Navigation Ltd., in the lease negotiations. David Cartwright of B&C Capital represented the tenant, MEI Rigging and Crating LLC, a packing and shipping firm with offices across the Southwest.
HOUSTON — HREC has arranged the sale of the Holiday Inn Houston Energy Corridor Eldridge, a 122-room hotel located at 1112 Eldridge Parkway in Houston. Woodford Hospitality LP, an affiliate of Ashland Hospitality Inc., purchased the property, which features a 24-hour business center, on-site laundry services and a private limousine service. The seller and terms of sale were not released.
MESQUITE, TEXAS — Bellomy & Co. has arranged the sale of I-30 Self Storage, a 195-unit facility located at 4018 Interstate 30 in Mesquite, approximately nine miles east of downtown Dallas. Built in 1984, the facility was 94 percent occupied at the time of sale. Bill Bellomy, Michael Johnson and John Arnold of Bellomy & Co. represented the Provo, Utah-based seller and procured the Dallas-based buyer. Both parties requested anonymity.
During his latter years in office as Texas governor, Rick Perry made it a priority to lure businesses to the state, particularly from California. Two-and-a-half years into the term of Gov. Greg Abbott, the successor to Perry, the pace of corporate relocations to the Lone Star State shows no signs of slowing down. Much has been written about the state’s business-friendly environment. Most businesses in Texas that aren’t sole proprietorships or partnerships pay a 1 percent or lower “franchise tax,” in lieu of a traditional corporate income tax. In addition, the state’s governing bodies tend to favor minimal regulations and sponsor research and development initiatives. The state’s economy is healthy, evident by strong employment growth. The Texas Workforce Commission reports a net gain of 210,000 jobs across the state in 2016, and employers are projected to add another 225,000 jobs in 2017. Equally important to strong job growth is the quality of life that employees are promised upon relocating. According to Robert Allen, president of the Texas Economic Development Corp., the lifestyle element is perhaps the most common incentive for moving to Texas among executives and employees alike. “When we ask executives why they’re moving to Texas, what we hear …
AUSTIN, TEXAS — DivcoWest, an investment firm with offices in Boston and San Francisco, has sold The Campus at Arboretum, a five-building, 318,534-square-foot office campus in Austin. The 16.5-acre campus, which offers walking trails, volleyball and basketball courts and picnic areas, is located near several major roads, including U.S. Highway 183 and Loop 360. Collectively, the three-story buildings are 97 percent leased to tenants such as BMC Software Inc. and Trion Worlds Inc. HFF represented DivcoWest in the transaction and procured the buyer, a partnership between Vanderbilt Partners and True North Management Group LLC. The buyer secured an undisclosed amount of acquisition financing from JPMorgan Chase.
HOUSTON — Lingerfelt CommonWealth Partners LLC, a Richmond, Va.-based investment firm, has purchased 1700 West Loop, a 14-story, 272,941-square-foot office tower in Houston’s Galleria neighborhood for $52 million. The Class A property was 81 percent occupied at the time of sale and is anchored by engineering and consulting firm Burns & McDonnell. The sale includes a 786-space parking garage adjacent to the building. The name of the seller was not disclosed.