ADDISON, TEXAS — E Smith Realty Partners has secured a lease for Maxim Integrated at Tollway Center, a 200,000-square-foot, six-story office building located on six acres along the Dallas North Tollway in Addison. Jim Hazard, Sharon Morrison, Brad Struck and Saadia Sheikh with E Smith Realty Partners represented Maxim Integrated, while Jeremy Duggins and Addie Ludwig of Cawley Partners represented the landlord. Maxim Integrated will lease space on the first floor and the company will occupy the entire third and fourth floors. With the addition of Maxim’s lease, Tollway Center’s occupancy is 80 percent.
Dallas is on a hot streak. This is the best market Dallas has seen in years. Companies are expanding and corporate relocations are driving new development in office, industrial and retail. Based on the healthy, active market of 2015, the momentum should carry over and remain strong through the first half of 2016. Office Dallas has become a headquarters hub in the past few years with companies like Toyota and Liberty Mutual putting down roots in the Metroplex. Companies are doing well financially and are growing, which is great news for the office sector. Leasing activity is at an all-time high with all sizes of companies experiencing growth. Office expansions and mid-term lease extensions are becoming the norm. In November, GEICO’s regional headquarters relocated to a larger facility with the goal of hiring nearly 200 employees before year’s end. The insurance company leased 224,000 square feet at 2280 Greenville Ave. in Dallas, brokered by Tom Lynn and Nick Lee, CCIM, of NAI Robert Lynn and Griff Bandy of NAI Partners in Houston. GEICO’s former headquarters building in the North Dallas area is now on the market. We’re also seeing the employment industry shift from focusing solely on clients to employee …
DALLAS — New York Life Real Estate Investors and Encore Office LLC have acquired 5005 LBJ Tower, formerly known as Occidental Tower, for $95 million, according to the Dallas Business Journal. The 24-story, 549,170-square-foot office building is located at the northwest corner of the Dallas North Tollway and the newly re-constructed LBJ Freeway in Dallas. Occidental Tower Corp., a subsidiary of Dallas-based Occidental Chemical Corp. (OxyChem) had owned the Class A asset since 1992. The property is 94 percent leased to tenants including Susan G. Komen Foundation, Encore Enterprises and OxyChem, which will remain as a tenant in the building. The top five floors of the property will become available in August. The new ownership team intends to complete a multi-million dollar lobby renovation and make improvements to the overall campus. Renovations are expected to start within a few months and will include upgrades to the building’s amenities. Plans include a new conference facility, tenant lounge and fitness center. Stream Realty Partners will manage and lease the asset. J.J. Leonard, Sara Terry and Chase Lopez of Stream’s office division in Dallas will lead the leasing efforts for the property.
IRVING, TEXAS — Liberty Property Trust has begun construction on a 44-acre industrial park in Irving called Liberty Park GSW North. Liberty broke ground on two buildings, which total 537,300 square feet. The buildings are designed to achieve LEED certification and are located at 951 Valleyview Lane and 5430 FAA Blvd. 951 Valleyview Lane will be a 341,400-square-foot building with 32-foot clear heights, more than 380 parking spaces and a 185-foot truck court. 5340 FAA Boulevard will be a 195,900-square-foot building with 28-foot clear heights, more than 270 parking spaces and a 130-foot truck court. A third building will be located along Frye Road and consist of 182,520 square feet. Construction hasn’t begun on the Frye Road facility. Upon completion, the park will offer three Class A industrial buildings totaling 720,500 square feet. GSR Andrade is the architect for the new building, Jordan Foster Construction is the general contractor and Halff Associates is the civil engineer.
WACO, TEXAS — Grandbridge Real Estate Capital has closed a $12.5 million acquisition/renovation loan on a 200-unit, 430-bed student apartment project just north of Baylor University in Waco. Baylor is a private university with an enrollment of just under 17,000 students. The property is known as The Hype, but will be re-branded for the 2016/2017 school year. Originally constructed as a non-student property in 1970, the property was renovated in 2013 and 2014 and transformed into a dedicated student housing community. The borrower will continue to upgrade the property through interior and exterior renovations, including relocating the main entry point to the south side of the property, near Baylor’s new McLane Stadium. Tom Walsh of Grandbridge originated the loan through BB&T Real Estate Funding, Grandbridge’s exclusive proprietary lending platform. The non-recourse loan features a two-year interest-only period, an initial adjustable interest rate below 3.9 percent and future funding of all renovation costs. In addition to the relocation of the property entrance, the borrower’s renovation plan includes amenity upgrades, parking area upgrades, adding additional bathrooms to certain units, washers and dryers and furnishing for all units.
FORNEY, TEXAS — ARA Newmark has arranged the sale of Gateway Cedars, a 334-unit, Class A property in the Dallas suburb of Forney. Built in 2015, Gateway Cedars is located on U.S. Highway 80, 30 minutes east of downtown Dallas. Amenities include a swimming pool, two outdoor fireplaces, lighted pergolas, a putting green and a bocce ball court. The 14-acre property is the first phase of apartments to be built in the 2,000-acre master-planned Gateway development. Other plans for the development include 120 acres of retail, 540 acres of single-family residential housing and additional multifamily space, as well as several hundred acres of multi-use space. ARA Newmark’s Brian O’Boyle Sr., Brian Murphy, Brian O’Boyle Jr., Richard Furr and Bart Wickard led the marketing efforts for the property on behalf of Dallas-based developer Gateway Holdings. An undisclosed buyer acquired the property for an undisclosed price. Gateway Cedars was 99.4 percent occupied at the time of sale.
MANSFIELD, TEXAS — The Beck Group has begun construction on the Texas Health Residential Treatment Center in Mansfield. Beck will design and build the 75,000-square-foot, two-story building. The facility, the first of its type for the health system, will provide residential treatment for adolescents and adults in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and beyond who need professional help to resolve addictions. Clients will typically stay at the treatment center for about 30 days. During their stay, patients will be involved in daily routines that will mostly include group therapy and wellness-focused activities. When complete in early 2017, the project will include a fitness center, yoga studio, massage therapy, movie theater and dining area.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — CBRE Capital Markets’ Investment Properties division has sold Arbor Square, a 50,836-square-foot, multi-tenant office park in Austin. Los Angeles-based Entrada Partners purchased the asset from California-based AMC Investments for an undisclosed price. Arbor Square I & II consists of two storefront-style office buildings. Arbor Square is located at 12885 Research Blvd., adjacent to Lakeline Mall in the northwest Austin submarket. The Class B asset was developed in 1984 and renovated in 2007. It was 90.2 percent occupied at closing.
DALLAS — Revere Capital has relocated its headquarters from Rowayton, Conn., to Dallas. Revere Capital originates and acquires senior mortgages, second mortgages, mezzanine and debtor-in-possession loans throughout the United States. Revere also underwrites investments in all commercial property asset types and corporate loans, heavy equipment, airplanes and art lending. Revere Capital has a staff of 17 and is located at 2000 McKinney Ave. Clark Briner founded Revere Capital following his work as an investment banker with Deutsche Bank in New York City and at Macfarlan Capital Partners, an institutional private equity real estate firm. He has served as an owner, lender, operator, sponsor and equity partner in commercial real estate.
BEAUMONT AND LUMBERTON, TEXAS — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has secured an $8.5 million, non-recourse CMBS first mortgage loan for a two-property hospitality portfolio. The portfolio consists of a Comfort Inn located in Beaumont and a La Quinta Inn and Suites located in Lumberton. Both properties are located near major interstates and highly traveled state highways. Randy Martin of Key’s Commercial Mortgage Group secured the financing.