COPPELL, TEXAS — ML Realty Partners LLC, an industrial real estate investment company, has acquired a 457,000-square-foot industrial portfolio in Coppell. The Class A portfolio includes five distribution buildings in Park West Commerce Center, located just north of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Transwestern has arranged the sale of Commerce Center South, three Class A industrial properties totaling 155,545 square feet in Austin's Southeast Industrial submarket. The property is 100 percent leased and is situated on a 35.3-acre development site. Hale Umstattd, Leah Gallagher and Luke Wheeler of Transwestern represented the seller, PacTrust, in the transaction. Commerce Center South is the first Austin acquisition for the buyer, Pennsylvania-based Stoltz Real Estate Partners. The company plans to expand its Austin portfolio in the future by buying office, industrial and retail properties. Stoltz purchased Commerce Center South through its investment vehicle, SREF IV.
HOUSTON — Trust Tobacco Co. has acquired a 83,000-square-foot industrial facility, located at 7604 Kempwood Drive in Houston. The property consists of 44,000 square feet of office space and 39,000 square feet of HVAC warehouse. Reed Vestal and Taylor Schmidt of the Finial Group represented the seller in the transaction.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Amerco Real Estate Co. has purchased a 76,448-square-foot industrial property, located at 2901 E. Pioneer Parkway in Arlington. Stan McClure of CBRE represented the seller, Loh International LP, in the transaction.
There appears to be no sign that the recent growth experienced by many Texas metropolitan areas is slowing down anytime soon, and Fort Worth is no exception. Substantial job growth, solid multifamily fundamentals, low interest rates and a pro-business climate have put many eyes on the Fort Worth market. The Fort Worth-Arlington MSA is experiencing positive job growth, and is listed as one of the best performing metros in the nation. The MSA added 36,700 jobs, an expansion of 4.2 percent year-over-year ending February 2013. The MSA also experienced an unemployment improvement of 0.8 percent. This was the largest year-over-year percentage increase in employment among all metropolitan divisions and good enough to be ranked 13th nationally in job addition. Many of these jobs have come from the numerous road construction projects that the area has undertaken, such as the North Tarrant Express, which has more than 1,100 employees working on the corridor. The $2.5 billion project just passed the three-year mark and is currently ahead of its estimated completion date of June 2015. When complete, the North Tarrant Express will run from Interstate 35 West in Fort Worth to Industrial Boulevard in Euless, relieving congestion, improving safety and providing for …
FORT HOOD, TEXAS — The Balfour Beatty | McCarthy team has topped off its design-build services for the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center Replacement at Fort Hood. The $536 million medical center replacement is the largest project to date funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The 947,000-square-foot project is also the largest design-build project in the Department of Defense's medical construction. The new hospital will replace the existing Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center and will provide healthcare services for service members and their families. The project sits on a 72-acre site and will include a six-story hospital tower, two two-story outpatient clinics, a three-story outpatient clinic, ambulance garage, logistics building, central utility plant and three parking structures. The Balfour Beatty | McCarthy team held a topping off ceremony with members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Health Facilities Planning Agency and Medical Command. Construction is scheduled for completion in July 2014, with operations to start in summer 2015.
DALLAS — Velocis, a commercial real estate investment fund, and its investors have purchased 3131 McKinney Avenue, a 145,610-square-foot Class A office building in Uptown Dallas. The 13-story property is more than 90 percent leased. The property sits atop a six-story parking garage and its tenants have immediate access to West Village, the McKinney Avenue Trolley line and Katy Trail. The acquisition is Velocis' ninth purchase, bringing its total assets under management to more than $240 million. HFF represented the seller, a state pension fund advised by Lincoln Property Co., in the transaction. Lincoln will manage the asset, and James Esquivel, Jay Bailey and Clint Coe of Jones Lang LaSalle will handle property leasing.
DALLAS — The Faulkner Design Group has finished the penthouse suites of the 24-story 1400 Hi Line, a luxury high-rise multifamily property located in Dallas' Design District. The property has 300,000 square feet of living space and features an outdoor fire pit, salt water infinity-edge pool, a skyline lounge and a 3,000-square-foot fitness center. Faulkner Design also updated the property's public areas with a new color palette and design motif. The property has been operational since last summer.
EL PASO — CBRE El Paso has secured a 101,983-square-foot industrial lease at 9500 Plaza Circle in El Paso. Chad McCleskey of CBRE El Paso represented both the tenant, Interload Forward LLC, and the landlord, Eureka Plaza Co-Tenants, in the lease deal. The five-year lease features a purchase option.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Atlanta-based Cousins Properties Inc. has broken ground on Colorado Tower, a 371,000-square-foot, Class A office tower in downtown Austin's Warehouse District. Dude/Paine Architects designed the 29-story building under the Austin Energy Green Building 2 star program. Colorado Tower will feature a fitness facility and conference center. Two firms, DuBois, Bryant & Campbell LLP and Scott, Douglass & McConnico LLP, have pre-leased space in the tower. Colorado Tower is expected to be substantially complete by December 2014.