LUBBOCK — Faris Lee Investments has arranged the $5.7 million sale of a 30,000-square-foot retail property leased by Best Buy, located at 5916 W. Loop 289 in Lubbock. Jeff Conover of Faris Lee represented the buyer, Cole BB Lubbock TX LLC, a buying entity of Phoenix-based Cole Real Estate Investments, in the 1031 exchange. Conover also represented the seller, Hawaii-based Lubbock HPI.
CONROE — HFF has secured $5 million in refinancing for the 107,358-square-foot Pine Hollow Shopping Center, located at Interstate 45 and Loop 336 North in Conroe. The shopping center is currently 92 percent leased to Aaron's, Northern Tool+Equipment, Dollar Tree and Star Cinema Grill. Travis Anderson of HFF arranged the 10-year loan through Aetna Life Insurance Co. on behalf of the borrower, Cencor Realty Services.
GRAND PRAIRIE — Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH has opened its ninth Texas location at the new Paragon Outlets in Grand Prairie. The 27,548-square-foot store is the company's 64th location.
COPPELL — The Learning Experience Academy of Early Education has leased an 11,000-square-foot office building, located at 123 E. Sandy Lake Road in Coppell, near Dallas. The lease term is 15 years. The property will include a 5,200-square-foot playground. Bob Buell of Fults Commercial Real Estate represented the landlord, 3B Developers, in the lease transaction. Jordan Meyerson of ComRealty Group represented the tenant.
DALLAS — Construction is under way on the first phase of Lake Highlands Town Center, a mixed-use development located in northeast Dallas. The first phase includes a 200-unit multifamily development and 7,450 square feet of retail. Prescott Realty Group and its equity partner, Austin-based Cypress Real Estate Advisors, are co-developing the project. The multifamily complex will feature a clubhouse, fitness center, resort-style pool and outdoor dining areas. The development is slated to feature a 20-acre park with public art, jogging trails and an outdoor amphitheater. The project was financed through a conventional HUD loan under the agreement that 20 percent of the units be made available for work force occupants such as entry-level teachers, firemen, police officers, private sector employees and entrepreneurs who earn 80 percent of the area's median income.
CARROLLTON — CyrusOne has finished the first phase of construction for a 670,000-square-foot data center, a “Massively Modular” facility located in Carrollton. The facility is the largest data center in Texas and is designed for 60 mW of power capacity. The first 47,000 square feet of space has been commissioned and 10 percent of its total space is already sold.
MCKINNEY — Baylor McKinney Physician Office Building I (POB), a four-story, 115,000-square-foot medical center located at 5236 W. University Drive in McKinney, has opened to the public. The facility is connected to the 95-bed acute care Baylor Medical Center at McKinney. POB houses Baylor Women's Imaging Center, Texas Oncology, Texas Digestive Disease Consultants, North Texas Colon & Rectal Surgeons, Baylor Family Medicine at McKinney, Women's Medical Associates of North Texas, Advanced Kidney Care of North Texas, Brinkman George & DeShazo Family Practice and McKinney OB/Gyn, as well as several other physician practices. Dallas-based RTKL designed the property and Dallas-based MEDCO Construction was the general contractor. POB was financed, developed, owned, managed and leased by Duke Realty.
CONROE AND SAN ANTONIO — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sales of a 123-room Motel 6 at 820 Interstate 45 S. in Conroe and a 113-room Motel 6 at 9503 N. Interstate 35 in San Antonio. Michael Yu, Rahul Bijlani, Eric Guerrero and Tyler Bean of Marcus & Millichap's Houston office represented the seller, ACCOR North America, in both transactions. A Houston-based investor purchased the Conroe motel and an investor from Texas purchased the San Antonio motel.
ROUND ROCK — HFF has arranged $27 million in refinancing for the 384-unit City North at Sunrise Ranch, a Class A multifamily complex located at 2800 Sunrise Road in Round Rock. The community is 93 percent occupied and features a swimming pool, fitness center, clubhouse and billiards room. Douglas Opalka, Charles Halladay and Robert Wooten of HFF arranged the loan through Freddie Mac's Program Plus Seller/Servicer program on behalf of the borrowers, McShane Development Co. and Arsenal Real Estate.
All indications are Fort Worth’s office market has turned the corner and is improving. The beginning of the year started out with activity and transaction levels that have not been experienced since early 2008. While activity has slowed down, we are still on pace for a good year. With limited new supply and increased activity, we are now seeing rates firm up, reduced free rent and positive net absorption. Currently, there are a few options outside of the Central Business District for large blocks of Class A space. One lease that helped tighten the market further was the Alcon lease for 87,000 square feet in the Wilcox Plaza. Vacancy rates for suburban Class A space stands at a record low of 3.88 percent. As a result, several developers are actively looking for sites to build new projects. Hillwood recently announced two new office buildings that will be built in the Alliance corridor totaling more than 160,000 square feet. Construction on the first of the two buildings should break ground in January 2013. In addition, by year end, we expect one or two additional projects to be announced in the Fort Worth suburban market. For tenants looking for space, downtown Fort …
