AUSTIN, TEXAS — TPG/CalSTRS Austin LLC, an affiliate of Los Angeles-based Thomas Properties Group Inc., has sold three office properties in northwest Austin for $76 million. The office properties, which total 517,974 square feet, include Westech 360, Park Centre and Great Hills Plaza. The transaction is in line with Thomas Properties Group's strategy to dispose of its suburban office assets and concentrate on the ownership and operation of office properties in highly sought-after submarkets.
HOUSTON — Behringer Harvard has begun construction on The Muse Museum District, a 270-unit luxury multifamily community located on a 2.9-acre site in Houston's Montrose/Museum District submarket. Dallas-based Trammell Crow Residential partnered with Behringer Harvard on acquiring the site for the community. Trammell Crow will be the project's developer, and an affiliate of Trammell Crow will serve as the general contractor. The Muse Museum District will span four stories and sit atop a two-level parking garage. The community will feature a cyber cafe, business center, fitness center, luxury swimming pool and dog station. Construction is scheduled to wrap up in the fourth quarter of 2014.
GARLAND, TEXAS AND EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. — New York City-based Gramercy Capital Corp. has closed on two industrial acquisitions in Garland and East Brunswick totaling $22.4 million. The Garland property spans 342,000 square feet and is fully leased to a single tenant through 2032. The property sold for approximately $10.7 million. The East Brunswick property is a 101-dock door truck terminal on a 16.25-acre site. The terminal is fully leased to a single tenant through 2019 and sold for approximately $11.7 million.
HOUSTON — General contractor Arch-Con Construction has broken ground on DCT Airtex Industrial Center, a 267,000-square-foot cross-dock distribution center located in Houston. DCT Industrial Trust is the project's developer and Long Beach, Calif.-based Carlile Coatsworth Architects is the project's architect. Arch-Con is slated to complete construction in the third quarter of 2013.
DICKINSON, TEXAS — Rockwood Real Estate Advisors has brokered the sale of the 108-unit Bayou Village, a Class B apartment community located in Dickinson. Bayou Village's amenities include covered parking, a swimming pool, laundry facility and picnic areas. The property is 96 percent occupied. Jordan Cortez and Michael Anderson of Rockwood represented the seller, Bayou Dickinson LLC, in the transaction. The buyer was a California-based investor.
PLANO, TEXAS — Whitestone REIT has closed on the $25.7 million off-market purchase of the 89,134-square-foot Headquarters Village, a retail development located in the Preston Road retail corridor in Plano. The center is located on the northeast corner of Preston Road at Headquarters Drive. The property is 97 percent leased to tenants such as Paradise Bakery, Comerica Bank, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Superior Abstract & Title and WCO Consulting. Whitestone funded the purchase through an unsecured revolving credit facility. Whitestone REIT owns and operates “community-centered properties,” which are defined as visibly located properties in established or developing culturally diverse neighborhoods. The firm has more than 4.4 million square feet of Community Centered Properties in its portfolio.
MANVEL, TEXAS — Love Funding has closed a $10.1 million construction-to-permanent loan for the development of Orchard Park of Pearland, an assisted living and memory care facility under development in Manvel. Joshua Hausfeld of Love Funding secured the 40-year loan through HUD's Section 232 LEAN program for new construction of healthcare facilities. The borrowers, McFarlin Group and Stroud Development, plan to open the facility in 2014.
DENISON, TEXAS — The City of Denison has received 600 acres of lakeside property fronting Lake Texoma in Denison from a deed transfer from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The site is situated along nine miles of Lake Texoma shoreline. The land will be part of the planned 3,000-acre mixed-use development, which Schuler Development, the project's developer, believes will create more than $1.9 billion in new investments. Schuler Development and the City of Denison have been working on the planned development for more than 12 years.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Louisville, Ky.-based LDG Development, a multifamily housing developer with more than 4,000 units in its portfolio, has opened a new office in downtown Austin. The new office is located at 1305 East 6th St. LDG owns more than 1,500 units in Austin, Houston, Sherman and Alvin. Dick Janson of LDG Development will serve as the Austin office's senior leader.
PLANO, TEXAS — Granite Properties has broken ground on Granite Park IV, a 300,000-square-foot speculative office tower, and the 299-room Hilton Granite Park hotel in Plano. The two structures are part of a 90-acre mixed-use development located at State Highway 121 and the Dallas North Tollway. BOKA Powell is the design architect, architect of record and the interior designer on both projects. Woodbine Development Corp. is the development consultant for the hotel, Austin Commercial is the general contractor for the hotel and Balfour Beatty Construction is the general contractor for the office building. Granite Park IV is a 12-story office tower that is aiming to achieve LEED Silver certification. The property will feature a fitness center, conference space, a five-level parking garage and landscaped walkways with water features. The 262,500-square-foot hotel will feature 35,000 square feet of conference space, a restaurant, retail space, fitness center and an outdoor pool and lounge.