HOUSTON — The Worthing Companies will develop The Heights at Park Row, a 342-unit multifamily property, in Houston. The property will be located within Central Park, a 78-acre mixed-use development of Wolff Cos. on the north side of Interstate 10 in the Energy Corridor submarket. Jeff Peden of Cushman & Wakefield represented Atlanta-based Worthing in the negotiations. Parker Associates is serving as design architect on the project, which is slated to open late this year.
Texas
EL PASO, TEXAS — Henry S. Miller Brokerage has arranged the sale of an 18,750-square-foot industrial property in El Paso. Built in 2006, the warehouse facility features 1,320 square feet of office space, metal construction, two dock-high doors and heavy three-phase power. Local businessman Jesus Velasquez purchased the property from Wells Fargo Bank NA. Tom Grunnah and Rick Stoes of Henry S. Miller represented the seller in the transaction. Jose Loya of Exit West Realty represented the buyer, who will use the property as a distribution center.
SUGAR LAND, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Bonaventure Plaza, an 18,702-square-foot shopping center in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land, for $5.9 million. Constructed in 2008, the property is located at 636 State Highway 6, sharing an intersection with HEB, Walmart, Sam’s Club and Chase Bank. Derek Hargrove and Justin Miller of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a Houston-based partnership, in the transaction. Hargrove and Miller also secured the buyer, a Houston-based private investor.
HOUSTON — Commercial real estate firm Studley has arranged a 13,500-square-foot office lease in Houston’s Galleria submarket for the national law firm of Wilson Elser. The tenant will occupy space on the 33rd floor of Two Houston Center, located at 909 Fannin Street. Wilson Elser will relocate from Houston’s CBD, a move necessitated by the firm’s merger with Powers & Frost at the beginning of 2013. Chris Taarzon and David Endelman of Studley represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Debbie Wilson of CBRE represented the property owner, Crescent HC Investors.
ADDISON, TEXAS — Holt Lunsford Commercial has arranged a 9,403-square-foot flex space lease in the northern Dallas suburb of Addison. The larger property, Addison Tech Center, is located at 4505 Excel Parkway, in close proximity to Addison Airport, Dallas North Tollway and President George Bush Turnpike. Josh Barnes and Lauren Halstedt with Holt Lunsford represented the landlord in the negotiations. Mike Gravitt of Mike Gravitt & Co. represented the tenant.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Muskin Commercial LLC has brokered the sale of the 200-unit Mira Vista Apartments in the North Central submarket of Austin. Located on approximately nine acres at 9601 Middle Fiskville Road, the garden-style community offers one- and two-bedroom layouts plus a swimming pool, clubhouse and management office. Ellen Muskin and Daniel Elam of Muskin Commercial represented the seller, Austin-based Mira Vista-PCF Ltd., in the transaction. Omninet Capital LLC, a private investment firm based in Beverly Hills, Calif., purchased and will manage the property going forward.
EL PASO, TEXAS — CBRE has brokered the sale of a single-story, 37,500-square-foot office building in El Paso to Baltimore-based Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBG). The buyer will move its television stations KFOX-TV and KDBC-TV to the property, which previously served as the headquarters for Currey Adkins. SBG is planning renovations, including the construction of new sets, satellite farms and sales and administration facilities, for the asset. Chad McCleskey of CBRE represented SBG in the transaction.
BEDFORD, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of St. Michael’s Shopping Center, a 31,837-square-foot retail property in the Fort Worth suburb of Bedford. The center was 97 percent occupied at the time of the sale to tenants including Papa G’s Bar and Grill, Texas Back Care, Old West Café, Gray Wolf Promotions, Salon Cheveux and State Farm Insurance. Located at 2900 State Highway 121, near East Harwood Road, the asset is situated across from the north entrance to the DFW International Airport. Philip Levy and Chris Gainey of Marcus & Millichap marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor, and also secured and represented the buyer, a partnership.
HOUSTON — Finial Group has purchased a nine-acre tract at the intersection of Kieth Harrow Boulevard and Barker Cypress Road for the construction of Bear Creek Industrial Park, a 60,000-square-foot speculative development. The complex, which will include two 30,000-square-foot, crane-capable buildings, will feature outside storage. Each structure will be offered for sale or lease. The first building is scheduled to break ground this month and will be ready for occupancy in May.
The Dallas/Fort Worth industrial market is one of the healthiest in the country and dodged the recession unscathed. Texas leads the nation in job growth and has now enjoyed six years of economic growth, and the cold hard facts underpin our high-performance industrial marketplace. Some 548,000 jobs have been added to the state of Texas since 2008, and Dallas/Fort Worth ranks third among metro areas in the state for job growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Approximately 1.2 million new residents were added to the Dallas/Fort Worth area from 2000 to 2010. Business Facilities magazine ranks Dallas as the No. 3 center in the U.S. for logistics and distribution, while Fort Worth is ranked No. 5 for aerospace and manufacturing. We know about Houston’s oil and gas-fueled economy, San Antonio’s growing entertainment and defense sector and Austin’s phenomenal growth backed by tech companies and anchored by state government. But what’s up with North Texas and the Dallas/Fort Worth economic drivers? For readers in the developer camp, they will be pleased to know that DFW was on track to have a record year of absorption in 2013 by the time we went to press with this article in …