TOMBALL, TEXAS — Northpointe Crossing LLC has purchased 4.3 acres located on Tomball Parkway near Northpointe Boulevard in Tomball. Christopher Winters of Colliers International represented the seller, Eastbourne Northpointe I, and R1 Brokerage represented the purchaser in the transaction. Northpointe Crossing is a local real estate developer specializing in retail and office development.
DALLAS — Lee & Associates has completed a lease transaction for 630,000 square feet of space located at 1 Mountain Creek Parkway in Dallas with Niagara Bottling, which will use the facility to distribute its water and flavored drinks to the contiguous 48 states. Trey Fricke and Reid Bassinger of Lee & Associates represented the tenant, Niagara Bottling, in the transaction. Kacy Jones and Steve Koldyke of CBRE represented the landlord.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA. — GBT Realty Corp. has acquired 30 acres in Oklahoma City to develop the first phase of a $50 million development known as The Market at Czech Hall. The project is a 450,000-square-foot regional neighborhood center. Phase one includes the construction of 180,000 square feet of retail, along with seven available outparcels, with the first tenant expected to open fall 2016. GBT purchased the property on Jan. 11 for $3 million. The development team includes engineering firm Crafton Tull and MJM Architects.
HOUSTON — Ten-X, formerly known as Auction.com, has brokered the sale of Lighthouse Plaza, a 10,600-square-foot retail strip center in Houston that sold on the Auction.com platform for $2.2 million. A local individual investor purchased the 2013-built, 100-percent occupied center. A local LLC was the seller. Saqib Ali of Champions Real Estate, who worked with Alexander Lavell of Ten-X, brokered the transaction. Located at 8245 Mills Road, Lighthouse Plaza is a single-building structure.
HOUSTON — CBRE has arranged a 25,000-square-foot office relocation lease for Hughes Watters Askanase (HWA). HWA, a full-service commercial law firm, has moved from Three Allen Center, located at 333 Clay St., to Total Plaza, located at 1201 Louisiana St. in downtown Houston. Kevin Kushner and Lucian Bukowski of CBRE’s Houston office represented the law firm in the lease transaction. The landlord, Brookfield Office Properties, was self-represented by Clint Bawcom, Jon Dutton and Margaret Sigur. Although the new space is smaller than their previous space, HWA will be able to accommodate more lawyers and staff than it did in its old space by taking advantage of a modern layout designed by Kirksey Architecture. Moderate changes, such as shrinking the size of individual offices, providing more access to natural light, creating spaces that encourage collaboration and interaction and reducing storage and library space will give HWA the ability to grow into their space as needed. CBRE also provided project management services, led by Erin Schultz and Ashley Ramos, which included vendor selection, budget management and timeline oversight to ensure the space was delivered on time and on budget. Total Plaza is a Class A, 843,533-square-foot office building located in downtown Houston. …
HOUSTON — Gill Dolan and Blake Willeford of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital have secured bridge financing for the acquisition and renovation of Monterra Park Apartments, a 392-unit apartment community in Houston. The financing was made on behalf of Tradewind Properties. The asset is located next to the White Oak Bayou Trail in northwest Houston, and planned improvements include a beautification initiative as well as amenity enhancements, rebranding and interior upgrades. The three-year loan includes two years of interest-only payments.
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.