LEWISVILLE, TEXAS — Starplex Cinemas will open a new location at the Castle Hills Marketplace development of Cencor Realty Services in Lewisville, a northern suburb of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The new theater, due for completion in the fall of 2014, will co-anchor the community center with a 123,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace. Features will include 100 percent digital projection, 3D technology, reclining seats and a café and bar. Castle Hills Marketplace is planned for the southwest corner of SH-121 and Josey Lane.
Texas
HOUSTON — NAI Houston has arranged the lease of a 99,965-square-foot industrial building in northwest Houston. The warehouse facility, part of Silber Road Business Center II, is located at 1246 Silber Road. Office furniture company Jimenez Contract Services LLC will use the space as a distribution center. Jon Michael and Ed Bane of NAI represented the landlord in the negotiations. Bob Berry and Jeff Venghaus of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant.
During the past several years, Laredo’s retail sector has experienced tremendous growth. With the continued development of the Bob Bullock Loop (Loop 20) that connects I-35 to South Laredo, retail stores and restaurants are finding this major roadway to be an attractive alternative to the existing I-35 corridor. Up to this point, the major retail corridor in Laredo has been I-35, which serves the Mexican shoppers as they visit Laredo from Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey. However, since the development of Loop 20, a shift in retail clusters along the loop has brought in local shoppers and growing number of Mexican shoppers. • Weingarten Real Estate Investment Trust now owns and operates three shopping centers in Laredo, all anchored by HEB. Its third and most recent acquisition, Independence Plaza, was purchased from San Isidro Ranch. The property, designed by Madeline Slay Architecture, has the only HEB plus! in Laredo as well as Ross Dress for Less and other junior anchor retailers. • The City of Laredo recently sold 79 acres across from Laredo International Airport off Loop 20 to Laredo Town Center LP. The property will be developed into a shopping center. • To help revitalize downtown, a public-private partnership between …
KATY AND CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — The Dallas office of Berkadia has arranged a total of $32.1 million in construction financing for two separate apartment projects in Texas, one in the Houston suburb of Katy and one in Corpus Christi. Steve Mentesana and Tim Nunan of Berkadia worked on behalf of borrower JLC Gaston LLC to originate a $19.2 million loan for Grand Fountain Apartments, a 198-unit, Class A property coming to Katy. Mentesana and Nunan also originated $12.9 million on behalf of borrower Encore MF Corpus II LP for the second phase of Encore Crossing Apartments, a 155-unit, Class A property under construction in Corpus Christi. Both loans were secured through the HUD 221(d)(4) and include a 40-year term.
PLANO, TEXAS — CBRE has brokered the sale of Plano Office Commons, a two-building asset totaling 190,000 square feet in the Telecom Corridor of Plano. The one-story buildings are each fully occupied by long-term tenants. Located at 601 Shiloh Road, the complex is just a quarter-mile north of the Bush Turnpike and three miles east of the interchange of SH-190 and North Central Expressway. Galatyn Park Urban Village, Collin Creek Mall, Charles W. Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts and the Renaissance Hotel are all in close proximity. Eric Mackey, Gary Carr and John Alvarado of CBRE arranged the acquisition on behalf of an investor represented by Peloton Commercial Real Estate.
HOUSTON — Private real estate investment firm Brennan Investment Group LLC has acquired approximately 11 acres of land in northern Houston for the speculative construction of three crane-ready flex buildings totaling 110,000 square feet. The facilities are designed to meet the needs of manufacturing, assembly or distribution companies. Located near the interchange of I-45 and FM-1960, the site is in close proximity to the new ExxonMobil headquarters campus project. Brennan chairman and co-founder Michael Brennan cited 16 consecutive quarters of positive absorption and a 92.5 percent occupancy rate as the firm’s basis for moving forward with the development.
HOUSTON — Ziegler Cooper Architects and Trademark Construction have completed the new Rosetta Resources corporate headquarters, four floors totaling 108,565 square feet of office space at the Heritage Plaza in Houston’s central business district. The facility features an open reception area with travertine flooring and walnut paneling, state-of-the-art conference spaces and backlit colored glass panels with company imagery. Rosetta Resources is an independent oil and gas company. Heritage Plaza, located at 1111 Bagby Street, includes a fitness center, 24-hour security and package courier service.
THE COLONY, TEXAS — Nebraska Furniture Mart of Texas has topped out its new 1.86 million-square-foot facility in The Colony, a northern suburb of Dallas. This first Texas location of the home furnishing chain includes a 1.3 million-square-foot distribution center and a 560,000-square-foot showroom. The retailer is the first major anchor of Grandscape, a $1.5 billion, 433-acre, mixed-use development located on State Highway 121 between West Spring Creek Parkway and Plano Parkway. Atlanta-based Turner Construction Co. built the facility, including hoisting the final beam in place on Oct. 23.
McKINNEY, TEXAS — A joint venture of Champ Hospitality and Beck Development known as Champ Beck Development will develop the $38 million Sheraton McKinney Hotel, the first Sheraton property in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The 186-room property, which will be McKinney’s first upscale, full-service hotel, will be connected to a 20,000-square-foot events center. Both the City of McKinney and McKinney Community Development Corp. are part of the project team. Developers have slated the opening of the hotel for February 2015. Sheraton is a brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.
SEGUIN, TEXAS — ElmTree Net Lease Fund II, an investment vehicle of St. Louis-based private equity investment firm ElmTree Funds, has acquired a 300,000-square-foot industrial property in the San Antonio suburb of Seguin for $22.6 million. FCA LLC, a third-party logistics provider for Caterpillar, leases the manufacturing and distribution facility, which is expandable to 395,000 square feet. Located at 1720 W. Kingsbury St., the property features 30-foot clear ceiling heights, 4,000 square feet of office space and two truck courts totaling 330 feet.