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 …
Texas
LEWISVILLE, TEXAS — Westmount Realty Capital LLC has acquired Alta Vista Ridge Apartments, a 270-unit multifamily complex in the Dallas suburb of Lewisville. Constructed in 2006 and 2007, the Class A garden-style community is located at 2241 S. Business Highway 121. The property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom residences plus amenities such as a fitness center, swimming pool and game room. The site is in proximity to Grapevine Mills Mall, Vista Ridge Mall and Lake Grapevine. Westmount will renovate the property over 18 months beginning in the first quarter of this year and rebrand the community as Westmount at Vista Ridge. The brokerage of Moran & Co. represented the seller, while the buyer represented itself in the transaction. NorthMarq Capital provided acquisition financing. Knightvest Management of Dallas will manage the property going forward.
FLOWER MOUND, TEXAS — The Silver Group has brokered the sale of a single-tenant retail building leased to Academy Sports + Outdoors in the Metroplex suburb of Flower Mound for $8.2 million. Constructed in 2013 and sold upon completion, the 72,000-square-foot structure is located at 3621 Justin Road, near the street’s intersection with Long Prairie Road. Academy, which developed the property, sold the asset to a West Coast partnership completing a 1031 tax-deferred exchange. Both the buyer and seller were represented by The Silver Group.
GRAPEVINE, TEXAS — CASE Commercial Real Estate Partners has brokered the sale of Vineyard Centre I & II, a 68,755-square-foot office complex in the Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine. Built in 1997, the two-building property is located at 1450 Hughes Road, offering access to Highway 121 and Highway 360. The asset is in proximity to DFW International Airport, as well as amenities such as Bear Creek Golf Club, Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center and Grapevine Mills Mall. Susan Gwin Burks, Bruce Butler and John Bowles of CASE represented the buyer, Dallas-based Menyon Capital Partners. CASE will assume marketing duties for the property, which was 80 percent leased at the time of the sale.
HOUSTON — NAI Houston has brokered the sale of a 67,000-square-foot industrial property in northwest Houston to Leeco Steel, a plate steel distributor. Situated on seven acres of land at 8655 Golden Spike Road, the crane-served facility offers rail service capabilities and a build-out configuration. Clay Pritchett of NAI Houston represented the buyer in the transaction. John Ferruzzo and Michael Keegan, also of NAI Houston, represented the seller, 8655 Golden Spike LLC.
CLEBURNE, TEXAS — Stage Equity Partners LLC has acquired a 25,850-square-foot medical office building in the Fort Worth suburb of Cleburne for $5.7 million. Constructed in 2007, the Class A asset is fully leased to tenants such as Cleburne Surgical Center, Cleburne Orthopedics and Sports, Pinnacle Anesthesia Consultants and Hulen MRI. The property, located at 2010 Katherine P. Raines Road, is in close proximity to Interstate 121. A private partnership sold the building.
THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — Hyatt Hotels Corp. and developer New Horizons Hospitality have opened the new 146-room Hyatt Place Houston/The Woodlands. The third Hyatt Place in the Houston metro area, the property includes a 24-hour fitness center, a coffee-to-cocktails bar and more than 6,100 square feet of meeting space. The location is in proximity to attractions such as the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Woodlands Mall, Market Street and Woodlands Waterway, as well as several corporate campuses.
RICHARDSON, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 2,567-square-foot property occupied by Gatti’s Pizza in Richardson. Originally constructed in 1978, the building is located at 2115 E. Belt Line Road, which boasts traffic counts in excess of 30,000 per day. At the time of the sale, Gatti’s had three years remaining on the triple-net lease. Blake Burnett of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, an out-of-state family partnership, and also procured the buyer, a local limited partnership.
IRVING, TEXAS — Spire Realty Group LP has arranged a 51,623-square-foot lease in Irving for JDA Software Group Inc., a provider of supply chain, merchandising, store operations and all-channel software. The Class A property, located at 500 E. John Carpenter Freeway in the Las Colinas submarket, totals eight stories and 200,000 square feet and includes a conference center, fitness center, deli, lounge and attached parking garage. Andrew Schendle and Allison Johnston of Spire Realty Group represented the landlord, an affiliate of Spire, in the negotiations. John Roper of CBRE represented the tenant.
EDNA, TEXAS — BMC Capital has arranged a $2.3 million cash-out refinance loan for the 43-unit Best Western Inn in Edna, approximately 25 miles east of Victoria on the Gulf Coast. The property, which features complimentary breakfast, high-speed internet and a swimming pool, is in close proximity to Lake Texana, as well as the facilities of Formosa Plastic Corp. The two-year loan includes a fixed rate of 8 percent and a 25-year amortization schedule. James Tennial of BMC arranged the terms through one of the firm’s correspondent lenders.