OKLAHOMA CITY — KBGE, an Austin-based civil engineering firm, has expanded operations beyond Texas, establishing its first out-of-state office in Oklahoma City. Located at 4045 NW. 64th St., Suite 415, the Oklahoma office serves clients throughout the state, providing civil engineering and land-development consulting services. Dean Koleada has been hired to lead the new office. Koleada is an Oklahoma native and long-time friend and colleague of the firm. Koleada is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and brings more than 16 years of engineering experience to the position, having led the civil engineering effort for numerous types of land development and public infrastructure projects in Oklahoma and Texas. KBGE’s portfolio includes a mix of multifamily, mixed-use, public works, industrial, retail and office development projects. Clients include Transwestern, NLand Surf Park, Cielo Property Group, GroundFloor Development, Ryan Companies, LD&C Development & Construction, Natural Vitality, Rooms To Go, LCS Development and Advance Auto Parts.
Grocery stores are always getting a better understanding of the priorities of their core customers. Convenience, value and service are the top reasons people shop where they shop. However, those priorities are expanding. The focus has shifted away from simply providing a “one size fits all” solution toward a customized strategy to attract a cross-section of customers — from the everyday shopper to experienced foodie. By doing so, retail spaces are successfully opening across the state at an elevated rate, addressing growing customer demand while navigating the ever-changing market. Here are five items impacting grocery stores in our state. Educated Customers Customers are becoming more educated about the products they buy. Their expectations are changing. Retailers are finding creative ways to successfully addressing them. To increase revenue and margins, drug stores are getting into the mix, with mixed results. Established chains like Walgreens and CVS/Pharmacy are renovating over 400 locations, with increased emphasis on rebranding their drug stores as health/wellness retailers and expanding the grocery items kept in stock. Big box stores, like Walmart, are also making changes as they try to refine their market strategies. The company announced that approximately 102 of its smaller Walmart Express stores will be …
SAN ANTONIO — BBVA Compass will move its San Antonio offices into Weston Centre, the city’s tallest office building. As part of the move, the bank’s logo will be placed atop the building’s north and south sides, illuminating it at night. The bank signed a lease earlier this month and will move to the center of San Antonio’s financial district by mid-2017. BBVA Compass will occupy 9,600 square feet in the lobby for a retail branch, and 19,000 square feet on the second floor for corporate offices. Weston Centre will undertake extensive renovations for the new BBVA Compass space. Offices on the second floor will feature an open space layout to maximize collaboration. The offices will feature Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies, shared public spaces, collaboration areas and private meeting rooms.
EL PASO, TEXAS — CBRE has arranged the sale of a 22,724-square-foot data center in El Paso on behalf of SourceHOV, a provider of transaction processing solutions, strategic consulting and data analytics. El Paso investor Jason Barreras purchased the building at 2601 East Yandell Drive for an undisclosed price. Rebecca Rojas of CBRE’s El Paso office, along with Dolores Wood-Euart of the firm’s Dallas office, represented SourceHOV. Kenny Gross of Priority 1 represented the buyer. The building will be available for lease to an office or flex user by next month. SourceHOV has more than 80 locations throughout the United States, as well as a presence in Canada, China, India, Mexico and the Philippines.
BEE CAVE, TEXAS — Peloton Commercial Real Estate has broken ground on a two-building, Class A office development located adjacent to the Hill Country Galleria, Galleria Oaks in Bee Cave. Developed by Adrian Overstreet, the two 75,000-square-foot buildings and a 150,000-square-foot parking garage will be delivered next February. True Car has pre-leased 37,757 square feet and will be the lead tenant in Building I, taking the top floor and half of the second floor. True Car is expected to move into its office space in March 2017.
IRVING, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of North Oak, a 132-unit apartment property located in Irving. Al Silva and Ford Braly of Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Worth office marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a private California-based investor. Silva also secured the buyer, a local partnership. North Oak is a 132-unit community that was built in 1982 and is located at 1417 N. Nursery Road. Community amenities include a swimming pool, individual meters and on-site laundry facilities.
STAFFORD, TEXAS — NAI Partners has represented Quest in a 70,000-square-foot build-to-suit industrial lease at the southwest corner of Stafford Road and Stafford Boulevard in Stafford. Jon Silberman, John Simons and Holden Rushing of NAI Partners represented Quest during the negotiations, while Joe Moody represented the landlord, Black Flag Properties LLC.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Transwestern Development Co. plans to develop Indie Apartments, a micro-unit community at 1648 E. Sixth St. in Austin. Transwestern acquired nearly 0.5 acres and will construct a 139-unit community with a 2,500-square-foot restaurant space in East Sixth, an entertainment district just east of downtown. Groundbreaking is scheduled for June with the first units expected to deliver in August 2017. The 55,814-square-foot property will consist primarily of 350-square-foot studio units and 520-square-foot, two-bedroom units. The fully furnished apartments will maximize space through built-in storage units and flexible furniture systems such as Murphy beds, hideaway kitchen modules and convertible tables. Located less than one block from the Plaza Saltillo metro station, Indie Apartments will feature a large communal area, fire pits, outdoor TVs and 108 below-grade parking spaces. Martines Palmeiro Construction is the general contractor, and Wilder Belshaw Architects is the architect. Comerica provided the financing for the project.
MCKINNEY, TEXAS — SWBC Real Estate LLC has purchased 9.3 acres within the 2,200-acre Craig Ranch master planned community in McKinney to develop two Class A multifamily properties. Craig Ranch is located on the north side of State Highway 121, also known as the Sam Rayburn Tollway. SWBC will develop the site in two phases. The first phase will be named Central Park at Craig Ranch and will consist of 269 units. At total build-out, the site is projected to contain 550 units. Central Park at Craig Ranch will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Amenities will include a clubhouse with a community business center, attached parking garage, 24-hour fitness center, pool and spa. Units will feature 10-foot ceilings, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and washer/dryer hookups. Cross Architects is the architect for the project, Stantec is the engineer and SWBC Builders LLC is the general contractor. SWBC Real Estate plans to break ground on the project in the fourth quarter.
LAREDO, TEXAS — CBL & Associates Properties has formed a 65/35 joint venture with Horizon Group Properties to develop The Outlet Shoppes at Laredo. Once complete, the 358,000-square-foot project will be the only outlet center within a 180-mile radius and the closest outlet center to the 4.5 million neighboring populace in Monterrey, Mexico. The project is under construction with a grand opening slated for spring 2017. CBL and Horizon are co-developing the project with Horizon responsible for leasing and management. The Outlet Shoppes at Laredo is nearly 80 percent preleased to tenants including Michael Kors, Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch, Tommy Hilfiger, Puma and Fossil. The project is located off I-35 adjacent to a new customs bridge that provides direct access to the property.