Purpose-built student housing has always been a dynamic market segment with unique challenges and opportunities. As an asset class, student housing fared well during the recent downturn, but the micro-market nature of these developments precludes too many generalizations. What makes a university a strong market for new student housing is in large part due to the dynamics at work in that specific university community. In addition, student housing being developed today reveals a trend toward high-end finishes and lavish amenities. Hyper-local Market On a national scale, the student housing market is large and growing. As the recession drove more people back to college, developers began adding new beds to campus communities across the nation. The swelling ranks of college enrollment, even as the job market declined, is one reason student housing continued to provide strong returns in a weak economy. But within a university community, there is a finite market for off-campus housing. For example, if a university has 20,000 students, one-third may live on-campus and one-third may commute or live in conventional housing. The other third — 6,500 students — in the market for off-campus housing likely represents the total market. If there were already 5,000 beds available, the …
Texas
SAN ANGELO — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Days Inn San Angelo, a 113-room hotel in San Angelo, Texas. Terms of the sale were not released. Chris Gomes and Allan Miller, with Marcus & Millichap’s San Antonio office, marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a limited liability company. The buyer was a private investor. Days Inn San Angelo is located at 4613 S. Jackson St. in San Angelo. The hotel is accessible by Loop 306 and U.S. Highways 87 and 277. The property was built in 1983.
DALLAS — CBRE has brokered the sale of 1700 Pacific, a Class A office tower in the Dallas central business district. Quebec, Canada-based Olymbec Group bought the property for an undisclosed price. The 49-story tower totals 1.3 million square feet and includes three levels of parking and concourse-level retail. CBRE’s John Alvarado, Gary Carr, Eric Mackey and Robert Hill arranged the sale on behalf of the seller, Berkeley Investments Inc. 1700 Pacific is in walking distance of downtown Dallas destinations including the Tower Club, Main Street Gardens, the Neiman Marcus flagship store and Majestic Theatre. Tenants include Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Field LLP, Neiman Marcus, Mary Crowley Medical Research Center and Southcross Energy.
TYLER AND LONGVIEW, TEXAS — HFF has closed the sale of, and arranged financing for, two East Texas apartment complexes, Arbors on Chimney Rock in Tyler and Saddlebrook Apartments in Longview, totaling 440 units. HFF marketed the properties on behalf of the seller, Haley Real Estate Group. Coastal Exchange Group bought the properties for an undisclosed amount. HFF’s debt placement team secured the $19 million, 10-year fixed-rate acquisition loan on behalf of the buyer through Redwood Trust. Arbors on Chimney Rock is located at 323 Chimney Rock Road just off Broadway Avenue in Tyler. The property sits on 9.8 acres, is 93 percent leased and includes 176 one- and two-bedroom units averaging 794 square feet. Amenities include a swimming pool, tennis courts, picnic areas and clubhouse. Saddlebrook Apartments is 91 percent leased and includes 264 one-, two- and three-bedroom units averaging 729 square feet. Amenities include a swimming pool, fitness center, sand volleyball court, tennis court, barbecue area and clubhouse. The property is located along H. G. Mosley Parkway, between U.S. Highway 80 and Loop 281 in Longview.
PALMVIEW & LA JOYA, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of two Dollar General Stores, both 8,625-square-foot net-leased properties, one in Palmview, Texas and the other in La Joya, Texas. Terms of the sales were not released. Geoff Ficke and Chris Adams of Marcus & Millichap’s Dallas office marketed the properties on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The buyer, an individual/personal trust, was procured by Dominic Sulo and Matthew Wenger, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap’s Chicago Oak Brook office. Dollar General-Palmview is located at 2750 West Expressway 83. Dollar General-La Joya is located at 395 West Expressway 83.
HOUSTON — HFF has completed the sale of three industrial properties totaling 219,452 square feet in Houston’s Pologis Park NorthPark, formerly NorthPark Central Business. HFF marketed the properties on behalf of the seller, J.A. Billipp Co. Prologis Inc. bought the assets for an undisclosed amount. The properties are located at 433, 533 and 600 NorthPark Central Drive. They are close to Interstate 45 and Beltway 8, Hardy Toll Road and George Bush Airport. The buildings are 100 percent leased to tenants including CalAtlantic, Michigan Institute of Aeronautics, Universal Technical Institute and Zoyto. HFF’s sales team included Rusty Tamlyn and Wesley Hightower, who worked with seller principals Andy Billipp and Mark Witte of J.A. Billipp Company.
HOUSTON — West Memorial Place, a 330,000-square-foot Class A office building has been topped out. The nine-story building is 50 percent leased and will open in early 2015. It is deigned to meet LEED Platinum standards. Skanska Commercial Development is the owner of the site and HOK is the building’s architect. Skanska USA Building is the project’s construction manager.
DALLAS — UCR Investment Sales has announced the sale of three properties totalling 178,407 square feet with a combined value of $36,625,500. Cross Pointe Center is a 45,465-square-foot retail center located at 1441 North Saginaw Boulevard in Saginaw, Texas. Shops at Abilene is a 62,511-square-foot shopping center at the southeast corner of Southwest Drive and Catclaw Drive in Abilene, Texas. The third transaction is listed as confidential and is located in Fort Worth. Adam Howells, Jace Hinderland and Jessica Donnelli marketed the properties for separate ownerships.
KATY, TEXAS — Skybox Datacenters, a Dallas-based developer, has started construction of Skybox Houston One, an 86,960-square-foot data center in Katy. The center will have four 10,000-square-foot data halls and could later expand to 12 data halls on its 20-acre campus. Construction is expected to be completed in November 2014. The center will be located near Interstate 10.
RICHARDSON, TEXAS — KDC, a commercial real estate development and investment firm, broke ground on a 489,000-square-foot office complex July 21. The complex is part of a 186-acre mixed-use development in Richardson, Texas located at 1717 East CityLine Drive. The facility will have three campus-style buildings at the southwest corner of President George Bush Turnpike and Wyndham Lane. When finished, CityLine will have six million square feet of office space, two hotels, 3,925 multifamily residential units, 300,000 square feet of grocery, restaurant, entertainment and retail space along with three parks.