GARLAND — San Antonio-based USAA Real Estate Co. has sold 5th Street Crossing, a mixed-use development consisting of 188 Class A multifamily units and approximately 12,000 square feet of retail/office space at 351 N. 5th St. in Garland, to Minneapolis-based Oaks Properties LLC. The development was completed in 2009 through a development partnership between USAA Real Estate Co. and High Street Residential, a subsidiary of Trammell Crow Co. Mark Stymiest of CB Richard Ellis represented USAA Real Estate Co. in the transaction with Oaks Properties.
SAN ANTONIO — David Farrell of Northmarq Capital's Kansas City, Mo., office has arranged first mortgage financing of $11.4 million for Whispering Oaks Apartments, a 346-unit multifamily property located at 2370 N.W. Military Hwy. in San Antonio. Financing was based on a 7-year term and a 30-year amortization schedule and was arranged through Northmarq's seller-servicer relationship with Freddie Mac through its Capital Markets Execution program.
HOUSTON — Dallas-based United Commercial Realty (UCR) and Houston-based MoodyRambin Retail have formed UCR MoodyRambin, a partnership that expands both companies presence in Texas. For UCR, it expands its territory beyond existing offices in Austin, Dallas and San Antonio by adding a Houston office. Similarly, the partnership expands the MoodyRambin Retail platform by adding services such as asset and property management, investment sales and urban retail services to its tenant representation, property representation and consulting services in Houston. As part of the merger, both the Houston and Dallas teams will remain intact and integration of the two teams will begin immediately. Lance Gilliam and Ed James will continue to manage the Houston office, while Mickey Ashmore and Jean Smith will continue to oversee activities in Dallas.
FORT WORTH — Dallas-based CASE Commercial Real Estate Partners has acquired Fort Worth-based MINKERTRAHANT & Associates, a commercial real estate firm specializing in office and industrial tenant representation, project leasing and brokerage services. The leadership of Richard Minker, CCIM, and Tyler Trahant has joined CASE Commercial. The acquisition of MINKERTRAHANT & Associates expands CASE Commercial's area of tenant representation and self storage brokerage within one of its core Texas service markets. It will complement the leasing and management services already offered through its Fort Worth office. Richard Minker, formerly chief executive officer of MINKERTRAHANT & Associates, brings more than 31 years of experience and specializes in tenant representation, project leasing and self storage brokerage. Meanwhile, Tyler Trahant, formerly president of MINKERTRAHANT & Associates, will serve as the managing director and city leader for CASE Commercial's Fort Worth office. Trahant specializes in office and industrial leasing, sales and self storage brokerage.
KERRVILLE — Zar Haro and Michael Moffitt Jr. of Marcus & Millichap's San Antonio and Austin offices have represented the seller, a private investor, and secured the buyer, a limited liability company, in the sale of the 55-unit Kerrville Plaza Apartments located at 1000 Paschal Ave. in Kerrville. The property consists of one-, two- and three-bedroom units in several different floorplans that range from 627 to 838 square feet.
HOUSTON — BBVA Compass, a financial institution that operates 380 branches in Texas, has broken ground on its new corporate office building, a 22-story, 312,000-square-foot LEED Gold certified structure of which BBVA Compass will occupy approximately 150,000 square feet and six floors in Houston. BBVA Compass' current corporate office buildings are located throughout the greater Houston area and were established when BBVA combined its four U.S. subsidiaries — Compass Bank, State National Bank, Texas State Bank and LNB (formerly Laredo National Bank) — under the BBVA Compass banner in 2009. The new office will centralize the bank's local executives, multiple business areas and staff units under a single roof at 2200 Post Oak Blvd. in Houston.
HOUSTON AND SPRING — Jerry Goldstein of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a limited liability company, in the $2.3 million sale of El Camino Center, a 25,680-square-foot retail, showroom and office facility at 17301 El Camino Real in the Clear Lake City development in Houston. In addition, Edward Benton of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a limited liability company, in the $1.6 million sale of an Advance Auto Parts, a 6,777-square-foot, single-tenant, net-leased property in Spring. The buyer was also a limited liability company and was also secured by Benton. Advance Auto Parts is located at 6514 FM 2920.
AUSTIN AND DALLAS — An affiliate of San Antonio-based USAA Real Estate Co. has acquired a significant interest in two of Gables' Class A multifamily and mixed-use properties in Austin and Dallas. USAA Real Estate Co.'s joint venture with Atlanta-based Gables Residential was executed in January 2011 for a portfolio of Gables' existing Class A stabilized communities and select urban infill ground up developments and acquisition cost of more than $400 million for all interests. The joint venture began construction earlier this year on two ground-up developments: the 333-unit Gables Fairmount community in the Uptown submarket in Dallas and the 281-unit Gables Upper Rock community in Rockville, Md.
HOUSTON — Trammell Crow Co. (TCC), in a joint venture with Principal Real Estate Investors, has purchased a 10-story Class A office building totaling 497,000 square feet located at 20555 State Highway 249 in Houston's Northwest submarket. The building was formerly owned and served as the corporate headquarters for Compaq Computer Corp. and later Hewlett-Packard Co. The acquisition also includes the purchase of an adjacent five-story parking garage and a 3.5-acre development site for future expansion. The joint venture plans a significant renovation program, including renovations and upgrades to lobbies, landscaping, common areas, signage and other aspects of the building. In addition, the ownership plans to seek Energy Star and LEED-EB (Existing Building) certification.
SEAGOVILLE — Cadence McShane Construction Co. has been selected by the Dallas Independent School District (ISD) to complete the new Seagoville North Elementary School. The 106,462-square-foot elementary school will support 810 pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students and will be located on a 14-acre site at 1906 Seagoville Rd. in Seagoville. The facility will be constructed as an environmentally sustainable school. The new school is part of the 2008 Dallas ISD Bond Program, a $1.3 billion, multi-phased capital improvement plan. The program includes the construction of 14 new schools, 13 school additions and miscellaneous efforts to improve technology, science laboratories, meal service and sports complexes.