DALLAS — New York Life Real Estate Investors has originated construction-to-permanent loan financing for Ascent Victory Park, a 302-unit, Class A apartment complex set to be built in Dallas. The fixed-rate loan has a 10-year term and will be used to finance the construction and leasing of the property. Ascent Victory Park will be located adjacent to the American Airlines Center in the mixed-use Victory Park development in Uptown Dallas. Located less than one mile from the Dallas central business district, the property will offer access to Victory Park and Uptown retail, dining and entertainment amenities, as well as the Katy Trail bike path. John Lippmann of New York Life Real Estate Investors manages the national bridge loan and construction finance program. Andy Scott of HFF’s Dallas office acted as mortgage banker in the transaction.
MIDLOTHIAN, TEXAS — Renzo Cella of NOVUS Realty Advisors has negotiated the sale of 31.8 acres on the southeast corner of the Highway 287 Bypass and FM 663 for the development of Midlothian Towne Center. Cella represented the seller in the transaction and helped negotiate the sale to Weber & Co., which plans to develop the 53-acre regional shopping center. Kroger Marketplace will anchor the development and could be joined by other big-box retailers. Construction is slated to begin March 2016 with an estimated completion date in April 2017. The shopping center will also feature an additional 10 pad sites for retailers and restaurants. Midlothian is located in northwest Ellis County. The city has seen a 136 percent increase in population since 2000.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — MYCON General Contractors has broken ground on First Arlington Commerce Center II, a 234,100-square-foot warehouse facility located at 4551 New York Road in Arlington. First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. is the owner/developer of the project, and Pross Design Group is the architect. First Arlington Commerce Center II is slated for completion in mid-year 2016.
DEER PARK, TEXAS — Phase I of The Junction at Deer Park, a retail center developed by the Houston office of Cencor Realty Services and located at the northeast quadrant of Spencer Highway and East Boulevard, is now open. The center, designed to incorporate as much as 400,000 square feet of retail space upon completion, is anchored by an 83,000-square-foot H-E-B grocery store. In addition to H-E-B, the center is designed with seven pad sites. A total of 14,600 square feet of in-line space on Spencer Highway adjacent to the H-E-B fuel station is in the planning stages. Cencor is planning the remainder of the center, which will include several big-box tenants. James Namken, Randy Hopper and Kyle Knight with The Weitzman Group are handling leasing at The Junction at Deer Park. The new H-E-B will include a bakery, business center, deli, sushi bar, large produce department and pharmacy. The Junction at Deer Park is Cencor’s second retail project at the intersection of Spencer Highway and East Boulevard. Cencor also developed Deer Park Station, a retail center shadow-anchored by Walmart.
DESOTO, TEXAS — Greysteel has arranged the sale of Townhome Apartments, a 14-unit, garden-style community in DeSoto. Greysteel’s multifamily investment sales team led by Boyan Radic, Doug Banerjee, Andrew Mueller and Ryan Hill served as advisor and agent to the seller, a local private investor, in the sale of Townhome Apartments to Cove Townhomes LLC. Townhome Apartments is located less than three miles from I-35E.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Commercial brokers Steve Fithian and James Blake have merged their Fort Worth Sperry Van Ness offices together into Sperry Van Ness / Trinity Advisors. The merger brings together Fithian’s Sperry Van Ness / Visions Commercial office and Blake’s Sperry Van Ness / Summit Commercial office. The newly merged office, located at 5601 Bridge St., Ste. 504 in Fort Worth, provides commercial real estate brokerage, leasing, consulting and property management on all commercial property types. Fithian has more than 25 years of commercial real estate experience. His specialty primarily has been in multifamily, but has lately also focused on retail and office properties. Fithian also organizes, manages and acts as the general partner in real estate syndications. Blake has more than 30 years of commercial real estate experience. His primary focus is retail and industrial income-producing properties. He also specializes in single-tenant net lease retail and is working to put together a single-tenant net lease team at Sperry Van Ness / Trinity Advisors to represent clients in the purchase and sale of these properties. The company has a total of six advisors and eight employees.
WEBSTER, TEXAS — DPG Investments LLC and affiliates have structured $9.8 million in limited partner capital, equating to approximately 95 percent of the required equity, for the acquisition and renovation of a 400-unit apartment complex in the Clear Lake submarket of Houston. The property, called The Falls at Clear Lake, is located on nearly 24 acres in Webster. The Falls is close to the Webster medical corridor and employment centers including the Port of Houston and NASA.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Renaissance II, a 51-unit apartment property located in Fort Worth. Scott Ogilvie and Trey Caldwell of Marcus & Millichap’s Dallas office marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a partnership. Ogilvie and Caldwell also procured the buyer, a limited liability company. Renaissance II is located at 2324 Ridgmar Plaza in Fort Worth, just north of I-30. Constructed in 1962, the 51-unit, Class C asset is situated on one acre. Renaissance II consists of one two-story building with one efficiency, 24 one-bedroom/one-bath and 26 two-bedroom/two-bath floor plans. At the time of listing, the asset was 98 percent occupied.
HOUSTON — HFF has arranged the sale of BBVA Compass Plaza, a Class A office building totaling 326,200 square feet in Houston. BBVA Compass Plaza is the first office building to be delivered to the Galleria area in nearly three decades. HFF marketed the asset on behalf of the seller, a joint venture partnership between Stream Realty Partners, TRC Capital Partners (formerly The Redstone Cos.) and an institutional client of L&B Realty Advisors. Masaveu Post Oak Houston Delaware LLC purchased BBVA Compass Plaza for an undisclosed amount. Completed in 2013, BBVA Compass Plaza is a LEED Gold-certified, 22-story building that is 83 percent leased. BBVA Compass Bank occupies 58 percent of the net rentable area, and the remaining tenants are a mix of national and international firms. The recently completed property features a 1,144-space parking garage, a full retail bank branch, fitness center and two restaurants: Caracol and Oka Sushi. BBVA Compass Plaza is situated in Houston’s Galleria submarket with access to Loop 610, I-10, Highway 59 and Westpark Tollway. Scott Galloway, Dan Miller, Matt Kafka, Colby Mueck and Trent Agnew led the HFF investment sales team.
DALLAS — Paradigm Tax Group has relocated its headquarters to Dallas and added a new CEO. Paradigm provides property tax consulting services for commercial property owners and has more than 30 regional offices across the U.S. Paradigm will retain its presence in its former headquarters in the Phoenix area. Steve Stubitz will remain chairman of the company but step down from his interim CEO role to welcome Mark Wanic as CEO. Stubitz held the position following the retirement of Paradigm’s prior CEO Bob Dunlap. Wanic comes to Paradigm after holding a variety of executive positions at Cushman & Wakefield. Wanic is the latest addition to a new management team, which includes new CFO Francoise Mattice, who joined Paradigm in March. Paradigm helps clients identify potential tax-saving opportunities.