FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Copper Creek, a 14-building, 274-unit apartment community located at 6011 Oakland Hills Drive on Fort Worth’s eastern side. Community amenities include two pools, on-site laundry facilities and patios with outdoor storage. Al Silva of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, Lubbock-based Madera Residential, in the transaction. Silva and Ford Braly, also with Marcus & Millichap, procured the buyer, an undisclosed, out-of-state investment firm.
GRAPEVINE, TEXAS — EDGE Realty Capital Markets has arranged the sale of 2301 Ira E. Woods, an 11,544-square-foot office property located at the intersection of Ira E. Woods Ave. and State Highway 114 in Grapevine, a northwestern suburb of Dallas. Brandon Crow and Wilson Stafford of EDGE represented the seller, Georgia-based DayStar Management LLC, in the transaction. Michelle Hudson of Hudson Peters Commercial represented the unspecified buyer.
Tenant concessions, ranging from free rent to complimentary carpet cleanings to distribution of gift cards, have become the norm in Houston’s multifamily market over the last few years. And according to several industry experts who spoke at the InterFace Houston Multifamily Conference on March 28, it’s the millennials who are taking advantage of them. Houston has become an especially attractive destination for millennials in recent years. According to a survey by JAXUSA Partnership, which tracks demographic trends throughout major metros, between 2010 and 2013, the metro ranked sixth in population growth of residents age 20 to 29. Tenants receive fewer concessions in submarkets without a lot of new construction. In Houston, this primarily means suburbs — The Woodlands, Pearland, and Katy. In submarkets closer to downtown, where there is generally more construction, concessions have come to serve as bargaining chips for prospective renters. For Houston landlords, operating in a market where concessions have become standard has made lease renewals harder to come by. Stacy Hunt, executive director of multifamily development and management firm Greystar, sees a direct correlation between millennials and lease renewals. “Properties in [sub]markets where you have a lot of millennials — Downtown, Heights, Washington Avenue — it’s tougher …
ALLEN, TEXAS — Kaizen Development Partners has broken ground on Phase I of One Bethany at Watters Creek, a Class A office park located at the corner of Bethany Drive and Watters Creek Boulevard in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro of Allen. Texas-based architecture firm BOKA Powell designed the initial phase of the project, which includes a 125,000-square-foot office building with a 570-space parking garage. Delivery of the building, which will feature a conference room, fitness center and tenant lounge, is expected within 12 months.
KATY, TEXAS — Amazon.com Inc. has announced plans to open a 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center in the west Houston suburb of Katy. Duke Realty will develop the center, which will be situated on approximately 87 acres near the intersection of U.S. Highway 90 and Woods Road, according to the Houston Business Journal. The project, which marks Amazon’s 10th fulfillment center in Texas, is expected to create about 1,000 full-time jobs in packaging and shipping.
NEW CANEY, TEXAS — Hobby Lobby has opened a new store in Valley Ranch Town Center, a 240-acre, 1.5 million-square-foot mixed-use development in New Caney, a city roughly 30 miles north of Houston. The Signorelli Co., a Houston-area builder, developed the property, which is situated within the 1,400-acre, master-planned community of Valley Ranch on Grand Parkway near Interstate 69. Valley Ranch Town Center, which also includes a 13,500-seat amphitheater and 1,000 multifamily residences, is the largest retail project currently underway in the Houston area.
DALLAS — Hunt Mortgage Group has arranged a $10 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Spanish Brook Apartments, a 248-unit, garden-style apartment complex located at 11511 Ferguson Road in east Dallas. The loan features a 12-year term, 25-year amortization schedule and an 11.5-year yield maintenance period. To date, the undisclosed, Texas-based borrower has invested $7 million in renovations to the unit interiors and building exteriors of the property.
DENTON, TEXAS — SHOP Cos. has brokered the sale of San Jacinto Plaza, a 61,853-square-foot retail center located at 2300 San Jacinto Blvd. near Interstate 35 in Denton, a city in north Texas equidistant from Dallas and Fort Worth. At the time of sale, the property was 87 percent leased to tenants such as Office Depot, Foot Spa and Mattress Firm. Tommy Tucker and Tim Axilrod of SHOP Cos. represented the seller, a Dallas-based limited partnership, in the transaction. An undisclosed limited liability company from Plano purchased the property.
LA PORTE. TEXAS — Hines, a global real estate investment firm, has acquired Underwood Distribution Center, a Class A, 2.2 million-square-foot industrial park located at 359 Old Underwood Road in La Porte, approximately 12 miles east of Port Houston. The center consists of five buildings that are 100 percent leased, as well as three development parcels. Hines’ first addition to the property will be a 167,000-square-foot distribution building, which is slated for delivery in the fourth quarter of this year.
DALLAS — Greysteel, an investments services firm, has brokered the sale of Royal Lane Apartments, a 172-unit multifamily complex in north Dallas. Located at 2825 Royal Lane near Interstate 635 and the Royal Lane DART station, the property features a courtyard, picnic area and on-site laundry services. Boyan Radic, Doug Banerjee, Andrew Mueller and Andrew Hanson of Greysteel represented the seller in the transaction. Other terms of the sale were not released.