HOUSTON — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Houston Medical Center Land, a 66,090-square-foot tract of land located in Houston. Gus Lagos and Evan Altemus of Marcus & Millichap’s Houston office marketed the property on behalf of the seller, an individual/personal trust. Houston Medical Center Land is located on Holly Hall Street.
CARROLLTON, TEXAS — Lee & Associates has negotiated a lease transaction for a 25,175-square-foot industrial space located at 2005 McDaniel Drive in Carrollton. Adam Graham of Lee & Associates’ Dallas/Fort Worth office represented the tenant, GP Services Inc., in the transaction. Lincoln Property Co. represented the landlord, ProLogis.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — BBD Commercial, an Austin-based real estate development firm, has taken over management, marketing and leasing of Oak Hill Plaza, located at 7101 Highway 71 in Austin. In addition to running the day-to-day operations, the company has a major facelift planned for the 115,512-square-foot property. Auto Zone, Wells Fargo Bank and Jim’s Restaurant anchor the plaza. The shopping center has 36,000 square feet of available retail and restaurant space consisting of suites ranging from 1,220 to more than 15,000 square feet, including a 3,500-square-foot end cap space slotted for a restaurant. BBD’s renovation plans include a remodeled façade and repainted exterior, a marquee restaurant end cap with patio, a resurfaced and re-striped parking lot, new lighting and landscaping, a new roof and a re-constructed monument sign. Bill Ott and Tim Jarvis are leading BBD’s renovation and leasing efforts. Construction will start in May and will be completed within six months. Engen Contracting and Noack-Little architects are working with BBD on the project.
HOUSTON — Ensinger, a global producer of engineering plastics, has purchased a 61,875-square-foot manufacturing facility under construction on nine acres at 12331 Cutten Road in Houston. Clay Development & Construction was the seller. Completion of the one-story building is scheduled for summer 2016. The design/build project is the 14th building in Cutten Road Business Park, a 165-acre site acquired by Clay in 2008. The business park is now 90 percent developed. Charlie Christ of Clay Development & Construction represented the seller in the transaction. The Ensinger building includes a 20-ton crane, dust collection systems, gas-fired ovens, built-in equipment foundations and a 900-square-foot canopied area. Situated on Cutten Road at Highway 249, the business park is accessible from Sam Houston Parkway/Beltway 8 and offers BNSF rail access. Other companies in the development include Archer Well, Phoenix Technology Services, ThyssenKrupp Materials NA, Kemper Valve & Fittings Corp., FMA, Adams Valves, Corrosion Materials, Hydraquip, Boots & Coots, PolySpec Thiokol, Hatfield & Co., Bohler Uddelholm/Sturdell Specialty, Prevost, LED-OEM, Polk Mechanical Company and Filtration Technology Corp./FTC.
HOUSTON — Taeken Ltd., a family limited partnership, has purchased 47 acres at 0 S. Main St. between Hiram Clarke Road and South Post Oak Road from S Main Ltd. The site will be the new campus for Saint Nicholas School and related developments to be announced. Linda Jones of Wilson-Jones Properties represented the seller. Mark Kidd Sr. and Mark Kidd Jr. of M Kidd Properties represented the buyer. Margot Heard founded Saint Nicholas School, currently operating at 1920 N. Braeswood Blvd. Classes at the new campus will begin in Fall 2018.
EL PASO, TEXAS — El Paso-based developer River Oaks Properties plans to build a pedestrian-friendly outdoor retail center in west El Paso. West Towne Marketplace will be an open-air retail and entertainment destination located on the northeast corner of Interstate 10 and Paseo del Norte. The center will feature tree-lined streets and native plants. It will be built to include gathering spaces designed to encourage relaxation. The anticipated completion date for the center is October 2017. West Towne Marketplace spans 63 acres and will include more than 500,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and entertainment. It will feature a grocery anchor, sporting goods and clothing retailers, along with a movie theater, specialty retail stores and restaurants. Phoenix-based Butler Design Group is designing West Towne Marketplace. Richard Amstater of RJL Real Estate Consultants is handling the leasing of the project.
SAN ANTONIO — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap specializing in institutional and private real estate investors, has arranged the sale of The Palazzo, a 90-unit condominium community in northwest San Antonio. Will Balthrope, Drew Kile and Jordan Featherstone of IPA represented the seller and procured the buyer. The community is located at 5455 Rowley Road. The Palazzo’s one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans average 1,099 square feet and feature stainless steel and black appliances, granite countertops, porcelain tile flooring and freestanding showers. Common area amenities, which are maintained by a condominium owners association, include reserved parking, a pool, fitness center, business center, breezeways, picnic area and playground.
The collapse of oil and natural gas prices has reduced the value of commercial, industrial and residential properties across Texas, and threatens to reduce those values even further. This market collapse greatly impacts property tax appraisals and related tax revenue, especially as it relates to upstream, midstream and downstream properties, and to a lesser extent, commercial properties in general. Now more than ever, owners need to ensure they’re paying their share of property taxes — and nothing more. Judicial challenges are becoming increasingly popular due to their effectiveness in reducing appraisals to align with fair market values. The Houston Chronicle reported that there were 2,541 active lawsuits over commercial property valuations for the 2015 tax year in Harris County alone. The owners of 33 of the 34 high-rise commercial properties in downtown Houston have filed a judicial property tax challenge, as reported by the Houston Business Journal, and Exxon Mobil is suing the Harris County Appraisal District for its $1 billion appraisal of Exxon’s newly constructed campus. To file a judicial appeal, an owner must first file an administrative appeal with the Appraisal Review Board (ARB). These protests are common and typically yield a modest reduction in the appraised value. …
SAN ANTONIO — Stream Realty Partners has broken ground on Phase II of the company’s One51 Office Centre in the Westover Hills area of San Antonio. The Class A project will consist of a 101,000-square-foot office building located off of Highway 151. The two-story building will be completed in December. Carolyn Hinchey Shaw of Stream Realty Partners Central Texas will lease the office property, which will offer floor plates ranging from 22,000 to 101,000 square feet. The property, owned by Stream, will feature Class A finishes, 10-foot ceilings, 24-hour access, visibility from Highway 151 and dual-pane glass windows. The property is located on 9 acres near San Antonio International Airport. Westover Hills is home to numerous corporate campuses, including Nationwide Insurance, Wells Fargo, Hartford Insurance, Kohl’s, Capital Group, Chase Bank and Microsoft.
SAN MARCOS, TEXAS — A joint venture between Alex. Brown Realty (ABR) and Asset Campus Housing (ACH) has acquired Dakota Ranch, a student housing project in San Marcos. ABR Chesapeake Fund V, a value-add real estate fund sponsored by ABR, invested $5.9 million in the joint venture. Dakota Ranch is a 316-bed student housing property located near the main campus of Texas State University. Purpose-built as student housing in 2003, the property contains 188 apartment units located within 10 three-story buildings on 17 acres. At closing, the property was 99 percent occupied for the 2015-2016 school year. The property will undergo capital improvements that are expected to drive higher rents for the 2016-2017 school year. Baltimore-based ABR is a privately owned real estate investment manager organized in 1972.
