CORSICANA — The Silver Group has brokered the sale of an approximately 3,000-square-foot Jack in the Box restaurant, located in Corsicana. Barry Silver of The Silver Group represented the buyer, an investor, in the transaction. Nick Farris of Marcus & Millichap's Dallas office represented the undisclosed seller.
The Houston retail market experienced modest improvement in 2011 as the area economy began to shake off the effects of the national recession with strong local job growth and reasonably steady, if not particularly noteworthy, housing starts. Positive retail space absorption of 2.8 million square feet combined with only 1.2 million square feet of new construction resulted in a decline in the overall retail vacancy rate from 7.1 percent in the first quarter of 2011 to 6.7 percent at year-end. However, average quoted rental rates edged down slightly from $14.51 per square foot in the first quarter to $14.35 per square foot in the fourth quarter. Although the retail statistics for the past year aren’t terribly compelling on their own, they are more encouraging in the context of the regional economy in the sense that retail leasing and development activity generally lags the overall economy. The national recession hit Houston in full force in September 2008. The area lost 152,800 jobs through January 2010. In February 2010, Houston began to create new jobs again, and by October 2011, Houston had regained all the jobs lost during the recession. The Greater Houston Partnership projects that the Houston metro area will add …
GREGORY — Corpus Christi-based Ewing Construction Co. has been selected for the $30 million, Phase I contract of the 200,000-square-foot TPCO Pipe Finishing Facility, an industrial property located at the intersection of State Highways 35 and 361 in Gregory. The design-build team includes architect KE Group, civil and structural engineer CSF Engineers and MEP engineer Dawson Van Orden Engineering. Construction on the 200-acre site is slated to begin this month and finish January 2013. The owner of the property is Tianjin, China-based Tianjin Pipe Corp., which is reportedly investing $1 billion in the Coastal Bend Region of the U.S. The new facility is the first project of the investment, which is projected to be the largest single investment ever by a Chinese corporation in the U.S.
DENTON — Dallas-based Fountain Residential Partners, in association with Crosswind Development Partners, has plans to break ground on the 139-unit 33 North, a student housing facility located adjacent to the University of North Texas in Denton. The five-story facility will be fully furnished and include all utilities. It will also feature a clubhouse, a study room, a cardio theater/fitness center, an infinity pool and an outdoor deck. Fountain is expecting a fall 2013 completion for the facility.
HOUSTON — Cadence McShane Construction Co. has completed the construction of the 110,161-square-foot Edgewood Elementary School, located at Hollister Road and Kempwood Drive in Houston. The school belongs to the Spring Branch Independent School District. The new school features 38 classrooms, a science laboratory, a library, a full-service cafeteria, administrative areas, a music and choir room, instructional space and performing arts areas. The school also has a clock tower placed above the entryway. PBK Architects designed the new school.
HOUSTON — Marwell Properties has acquired a 15,300-square-foot warehouse, located at 11680 Brittmoore Park Dr. in Houston. John Ferruzzo of NAI Houston represented the buyer in the transaction. Jacob Carr of Transwestern's Houston office represented the seller, Sata Re.
DALLAS, EDINBURG AND TULSA, OKLA. — Party City Corp. has leased three store locations ranging from 12,000 square feet to 12,635 square feet in Dallas, Edinburg and Tulsa. The Dallas store is located in Wheatland Towne Crossing at Interstate 20 and Wheatland Road. The Edinburg store is located in The Shoppes at Rio Grand Valley at the corner of Trenton Road and U.S. Highway 281. The Tulsa store was located in the Mingo Marketplace Shopping Center at 10111 E. 71st St. Larry Leon and Jonathan Cooper of Venture Commercial's Dallas office represented the tenant in the lease transactions. The landlords were all self-represented.
CLEVELAND — Louisville, Ky.-based New Directions Health Systems and Whitetail Land Development have partnered to develop new medical facilities in Timbercrest Medical Park, located on a 600-acre campus at the intersection of State Highway 105 and the eastern bypass in Cleveland. The new properties will include medical office buildings, a hospital and an assisted living facility. New Directions is the management firm for Cleveland Regional Medical Center, which plans to lease 40,000 square feet of office space in the new development. Construction on the medical office buildings is slated for the summer of 2012, and construction for the hospital will commence after 2016.
DENTON — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $4.05 million sale of the 126-unit Singing Oaks, a multifamily property located at 307 N. Loop 288 in Denton. The property is approximately 90 percent leased. Al Silvia of Marcus & Millichap's Fort Worth office represented the buyer, a Florida-based developer, in the transaction. The seller was a local investor.
HOUSTON — Greenwich, Conn.-based Wheelock Street Capital has acquired the 380-room DoubleTree Suites by Hilton, located on Westheimer Road in the Houston Galleria submarket. The hotel features 10,000 square feet of meeting space. Westmont Hospitality will manage the hotel on behalf of Wheelock. The Plasencia Group represented the seller, an institutional investor group, in the transaction.