HOUSTON — Formerly a Renaissance, the 20-story, 388-room DoubleTree by Hilton Houston Greenway Plaza has opened. The hotel is located in Houston's Greenway Plaza, just outside the Galleria area, and will undergo a $15 million renovation for its public space and guest rooms in the summer. Garrison Investment Group owns the hotel and Aimbridge Hospitality manages the property, which features the Bistro 59 restaurant, 26,000 square feet of event space, an outdoor heated pool, a 24-hour fitness center, business center and a breakfast buffet.
ARLINGTON, GALVESTON AND CONROE, TEXAS — Venture West Funding Inc. (VWF), a mortgage company headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., has arranged three loans totaling $16 million for the refinance of three apartment buildings. The buildings total 405 units and are located in Arlington, Galveston and Conroe. Houston-based Centra Partners manages the three properties. Matt Douglas of VWF arranged the Freddie Mac loans through Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC. The loans are secured at a 10-year fixed rate with rates as low as 3.82 percent.
HOUSTON — Houston-based Read King Commercial Real Estate has begun to develop a 40,443-square-foot Whole Foods Market. The store, which will be located at Louetta and Cutten roads in north Houston, will be the area's first Whole Foods store. The grocery chain will anchor the first phase of Vintage Marketplace, an 18-acre development within The Vintage, a 630-acre mixed-use development. Gensler Architects will design the new store, in addition to its 31,000 square feet of small shop space, and Arch-Con Corp. will serve as the project's general contractor. Read King was self-represented by Tony Patronella and Christie Amezquita in the land transaction. Read King worked directly with the seller, LCSE Limited Partnership. Amezquita also represented the landlord in the lease transaction with Whole Foods. Jeff Hayes and Tal McIver of New Quest Properties represented Whole Foods.
DALLAS — Digital Realty Trust Inc. has purchased a 61,750-square-foot data center in Dallas for $8.5 million. The facility is leased on a long-term basis. The data center is located about 3.5 miles from Digital Realty's Digital Dallas Datacenter Campus.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — The Marquette Cos., based in Naperville, Ill., has purchased the 314-unit Verandas at Cityview, a multifamily community located at 7301 Oakmont Blvd. in Fort Worth. The gated community features a swimming pool, fitness center, business center and TV lounge. Marquette plans to add a dog park, update the main entry, add new equipment for the coffee bar and renovate the office and clubhouse. The property is Marquette's fourth Texas property and second in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
DALLAS — New York-based Rockwood Real Estate Advisors has arranged the sale of The Park on Whitehurst, a 232-unit apartment community located in Dallas. Jordan Cortez of Rockwood's Dallas office led the Rockwood team in representing the seller. The Commons at Cliff Creek Ltd. purchased the property.
CARROLLTON, TEXAS — Lee & Associates has arranged a 91,000-square-foot industrial lease at 2425 Carter Drive in Carrollton. Nathan Denton and Adam Graham of Lee & Associates represented the landlord, Cobalt Capital Partners, in the transaction. Jim Svidron of NAI Robert Lynn represented the tenant, Store Resource.
BRYAN, TEXAS — Dallas-based Weis Builders has completed the $28 million redevelopment project for Crestview, a 242,000-square-foot seniors housing property in Bryan. Crestview was originally an independent living community but is now considered a continuing care retirement community, which provides independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing services. The community includes several dining options, libraries, sitting rooms, beauty salons/spas, activity rooms, community kitchens, a chapel, outdoor pool and fitness center.
HOUSTON — Atlanta-based Carroll Organization has acquired two luxury residential communities in Houston's Energy Corridor: the 330-unit Waterford on Westheimer and the 330-unit Villas at Westheimer. Waterford on Westheimer features a swimming pool, outdoor grill, billiard room, coffee bar and sundeck. Villas at Westheimer features a resort-style swimming pool, outdoor gas and charcoal grills, computer lounge, fitness center, auto detailing services and lush landscaping. Carroll Organization now owns seven multifamily communities in Houston totaling 2,476 units. The company has completed more than $400 million of multifamily acquisitions during the past 18 months.
HOUSTON — New York City-based Cohen Real Estate has arranged the sale of Willowchase Shopping Center, a 273,274-square-foot center located at 12792 Willow Chase Drive in Houston. A 92,818-square-foot Fiesta Mart anchors the shopping center, which is 85 percent leased to tenants such as Jo-Ann Fabrics, Family Dollar and Dots. Helen Putterman and Vera Thomas of Cohen Real Estate procured the buyer, Houston-based Fidelis Capital Partners, in the transaction. Putterman and Thomas also represented the seller, Virginia Beach, Va.-based Wheeler Interests.