DALLAS — Mill Creek Residential has begun construction on Modera Hall Street, a 340-unit apartment complex in east Dallas. Located on North Hall Street between Ross Avenue and North Central Expressway, the community will be located less than a mile from the Dallas Arts District and Downtown Dallas. Amenities will include an on-site dog park with owner’s lounge, pool with tanning ledge, fitness center, business center and a fifth-floor sky lounge with views of the Dallas skyline. Residents will enjoy 24-hour access to deliveries via an electronic package locker system and the use of Modera-branded bikes. Unit amenities will include quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, tile backsplashes, wood-style floors and walk-in closets. Mill Creek will manage the community and is partnering with Boston-based GID on the project.
Texas
BENBROOK, TEXAS — The Silver Group has negotiated the sale of a single tenant Dairy Queen restaurant located at 8636 Benbrook Blvd. in Benbrook. The property consists of a newly constructed 3,000-square-foot quick service restaurant on a 1.1-acre parcel along State Highway 377. The tenant, Vasari LLC, is one of the largest Dairy Queen operators in Texas. The property is situated between Panda Express and Jack in the Box and is one block from CVS/Pharmacy. The net lease had a new 20-year term commencing on the closing date. Greg Cunha of The Silver Group represented the family trust who was completing a tax-deferred exchange.
SAN ANTONIO — Dougherty Mortgage has secured a $6.7 million Fannie Mae loan for the acquisition of Edge Studio Apartments, a 128-unit market rate multifamily apartment property located in San Antonio. The 12-year Fannie Mae loan includes two years of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization schedule. The loan was arranged for borrower Bluemel 2016 LLC through a partnership with Old Capital Lending and Dougherty’s Vienna, Va. office.
DALLAS — Brian Gramlich of BMC Capital’s Dallas office has arranged a $1.7 million loan for the cash-out refinance of a multifamily property located in Dallas. The loan featured a 3.5 percent, seven-year fixed rate and a 30-year amortization schedule. The loan was arranged through one of BMC Capital’s correspondent banking relationships.
WACO, TEXAS — Caddis, a national healthcare real estate firm headquartered in Dallas, has opened the 81-unit, 70,000-square-foot Heartis Waco seniors housing community at 5317 Speegleville Road in Waco. Caddis owns the community and Frontier Management will manage it. Heartis Waco offers amenities including a bistro, Internet café, fitness center, salon and spa, barber shop, two interior courtyards, dining room, arts and crafts room, media room, library, indoor and outdoor walking paths, 24-hour emergency call system and personal transportation. Austin-based Katus LLC was the architect for the project, and EBCO General Contractor Ltd. was the general contractor.
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Commercial Advisors (SACA), an independently owned and operated member of the Cushman & Wakefield Alliance, has arranged the sale of 231 E. Rhapsody Drive, an office building located in north San Antonio. SACA’s Ed Cross represented the buyer, Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of Greater San Antonio, who purchased the building for its administrative offices. Keith Coelho of Henry S. Miller represented the unnamed seller.
DALLAS — Three new tenants are scheduled to open at The Shops at Park Lane, a mixed-use development bordered by Park Lane and North Central Expressway in Dallas. The new tenants are DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, Francesca’s and Carlen’s Luxury Optical. DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, a footwear and accessories retailer, will open an 18,500-square-foot, two-level store in spring 2017 adjacent to F21 RED and ULTA. Francesca’s and Carlen’s Luxury Optical will open on the ground floor of the center’s five-story office and retail building anchored by J.Crew Mercantile and DXL. Francesca’s will open in May in a 2,045-square-foot space featuring women’s apparel, jewelry, accessories and gifts. In August, Carlen’s Luxury Optical will open a 1,500-square-foot store with luxury eye brands, optical frames and designer sunglasses. Licensed opticians will provide consultations for eyewear and lenses. Northwood Investors owns The Shops at Park Lane, and Northwood Retail manages the property.
DALLAS — Jack Dawson has joined SRS Real Estate Partners as a senior associate in the firm’s Dallas/Fort Worth office. Dawson focuses on tenant and landlord representation as well as investment sales. Dawson joins SRS with three years of experience in commercial real estate. He has worked with several retailers in the Dallas and north Texas markets such as AIO/Cricket Wireless, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Sub Zero Ice Cream and Eskimo Hut. He has also worked with many landlords in various project leasing assignments, and marketed several investment sale listings. Dawson has a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University, where he was a Hunt Leadership scholar and a Cox Business School BBA scholar. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors (NTCAR). Additionally, Dawson regularly works with the Yellow Rose Gala Foundation, a group that supports multiple sclerosis research.
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 …