PROSPER, TEXAS — Kirkwood Holdings LLC has purchased 50 acres in Prosper. Wayne Burgdorf of Coldwell Banker Commercial Alliance DFW in Arlington represented the Tarrant County-based buyer that plans to hold the land until neighboring developments start to take shape, then market individual tracts or the entire parcel to mixed-use commercial or residential developers. The 50-acre site is situated in the Tollway District overlay and includes 1,500 feet of frontage along West First Street. The acreage is directly across the road from Jerry Jones’ Blue Star Land Co.’s proposed 1,000-acre Star Trails’ community, and adjacent to Matthews Southwest’s planned 157-acre business park. Just to the south, Lincoln Property Co. is under construction on the 300,000-square-foot Gates of Prosper shopping center, the first phase of a 500-acre mixed-use project, and United Commercial Development is planning a 43-acre shopping center nearby. Phil Darland, an independent broker from McKinney, represented the seller, Bell 2005 Trust.
ORANGE, TEXAS — Tony Talamas of BMC Capital’s Houston office has arranged a $2.1 million non-recourse loan for the purchase of Cypress Cove Apartments, a 104-unit apartment property built in 1975 in Orange. The loan featured a five-year term with a 4.2 percent interest rate and a 30-year amortization schedule. The loan was arranged through one of BMC Capital’s correspondent agency relationships.
DALLAS — Lee & Associates has negotiated the sale of a 6,498-square-foot freezer/cooler warehouse located at 210 Oregon Ave. in Dallas. Matthew Thompson and Phil Rosenfeld of Lee & Associates’ Dallas/Fort Worth office represented the seller, Wang Globalnet. Charlie Perdue of Perdue Equities Co. represented the buyer, JC Goodman Investment Group.
DALLAS — Paul Vernon has been hired as executive vice president and head of Henry S. Miller Brokerage’s retail division. Vernon will oversee the retail division’s brokerage services, including landlord and tenant representation, retail and land development and property disposition, as well as income properties and land sales. Vernon brings over 30 years of commercial real estate experience to the Miller team. He started his career with Evans, Birmingham, Williamson, which later became Cornerstone Commercial Real Estate. Most recently, Vernon was executive vice president at John T. Evans Co. and director of retail development at Crest Commercial Real Estate. He began his career in project leasing and pad site sales, then transitioned to tenant representation, later adding property disposition, income sales and retail development to his responsibilities.
DALLAS — Street Lights Residential and Tricon Capital Group Inc. have broken ground on a high-rise apartment community located at the corner of Harvard Avenue and Tracy Street in the Knox Henderson neighborhood of Dallas. The project, named The McKenzie, is a 22-floor building that will offer 183 units ranging from 990 to 2,700 square feet. The McKenzie will include one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans with limited penthouse units. The average unit size is 1,600 square feet. Amenities will include a bar, garden room, fitness room, valet service, elevated pool deck and outdoor dining. The apartments are scheduled to be available in early 2018. Looney Ricks Kiss Architects is the architect for the project, Linda Tycher & Associates is handling landscape architecture and Waldrop + Nichols Studio is the interior designer.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) has arranged the sale of Trinity Bell Gardens, a 240-unit multifamily community in Fort Worth. Will Balthrope, Drew Kile and Rowan Burch represented the seller, Western Securities Limited, and procured the buyer, Block Real Estate Services, in the transaction. Trinity Bell Gardens is located at 9500 Trinity Blvd. The property is 15 miles from downtown Fort Worth.
TULSA, OKLA. — Eastern Union Funding has secured an $8.8 million loan for the refinancing of the Tulsa Promenade, a 424,633-square-foot enclosed regional mall in Tulsa, Okla. Abe Kolman of Eastern Union arranged the non-recourse, five-year loan on behalf of Tulsa Promenade Realty Management LLC, a New York-based borrower. Ready Capital Structured Finance was the lender. The loan includes future tenant improvements and leasing commissions that will be used to address lease rollover at the property, which was purchased in a short sale more than two years ago for $12.3 million. Situated on 22 acres, the mall is anchored by Dillard’s, Macy’s, JCPenney and Sky Fitness & Wellbeing. Regal Promenade Palace Stadium 12 is also located in the mall.
EL PASO, TEXAS — Pima Medical Institute has purchased a 40,000-square-foot building in El Paso to expand its medical course offerings. The school will relocate from a smaller campus on Burnham Road to the former Saddleblanket Co. building at 6926 Gateway Blvd. East in fall 2016 once renovations are complete. Upon closure of Anamarc College in June 2014, Pima Medical stepped in and began teaching the former college’s 76 occupational therapy assistant students. In addition to the current program offerings of occupational therapy assistant, medical assistant and medical administrative assistant, more programs will be added to the new location, including certificate programs in dental assistant, pharmacy technician, veterinary assistant, central sterile processing and phlebotomy technician. Rebecca Rojas of CBRE’s El Paso office, along with Nancy McClure of CBRE’s Tucson office, represented Pima Medical Institute in the site search and sale negotiations.
DALLAS — KBS Realty Advisors has signed two renewal leases totaling 13,590 square feet at Parkway Office Center in Dallas. IOA Nine Hundred Executive Suites signed a 9,376-square-foot lease, and Great Southern Video signed a 4,214-square-foot lease. Renovated in 2012, Parkway Office Center is a Class A, two-building office park offering 224,289 rentable square feet. Located off the Dallas North Tollway between Spring Valley Road and Quorum Drive, tenants can access restaurants, retail shops, public transportation and Dallas’s central business district. Amenities at the property include a deli, conference center, parking garage, tenant lounge, security and on-site management. Michael Griffin of Transwestern represented IOA Nine Hundred Executive Suites, and Bob Acuff of Colliers represented Great Southern Video in their respective deals. Trey Smith and Lauren Napper of Cushman & Wakefield represented KBS Realty Advisors.
Retail and restaurant activity is strong in Houston. The Woodlands, an award-winning master planned community located 27 miles north of downtown Houston, has defied the negative impact of the oil and gas market by staying extremely solid with high occupancy and strong rents. Both retail and restaurants have seen robust growth. “Despite reports of Houston’s economic slowdown, the retail market isn’t fazed by the dropping oil prices,” says CBRE’s Houston retail research report for third quarter 2015. “In fact, construction has increased, national retailers are bullish on the Bayou City and five years of the strongest population gains in the nation are driving healthy retail growth.” Retail occupancy in the Far North sector, including The Woodlands, remains at approximately 94 percent for the third quarter of 2015, according to CBRE. Suburban Expansion While traffic in the Houston area continues to become congested, suburban cities such as The Woodlands offer shoppers and diners almost all of their retail needs within the walls of the community. Residents are finding no reason to leave. Retail in Houston and The Woodlands is limited by supply. As quickly as construction begins on new retail sites, preleasing occurs. “Fortunately, there is currently 2.6 million square feet …