RICHARDSON — Ericsson, a provider of telecommunications equipment and related services, has signed two lease agreements for approximately 260,000 square feet to add to the 200,000 square feet it already occupies in the former Nortel campus at 2201-2221 Lakeside Blvd. in Richardson's Telecom corridor. Mike Wyatt and Ken Johnston of Cushman & Wakefield represented Ericsson, while Manny Ybarra represented Pillar Commercial, the landlord, internally. Ericsson now occupies 460,000 square feet of the two buildings' approximately 800,000 square feet. Pillar Commercial purchased the complex out of bankruptcy on June 3, 2011.
Texas
DALLAS — Dallas-based Behringer Harvard has formed BH Capital, LLC, a Behringer Harvard-related company focusing on the acquisition of small-balance debt instruments sold on the secondary market via individual transactions or portfolio sales. BH Capital's investment strategy is to take advantage of opportunities presented by recent economic disruptions to acquire a blend of performing and non-performing loans secured by commercial real estate and other types of commercial/industrial assets. BH Capital plans to acquire loans originating from the full spectrum of U.S. financial institutions, including sound, distressed and failed entities. The company will create and manage a series of private, closed-end funds which will be offered to accredited and institutional investors. It will operate as a separate entity while leveraging Behringer Harvard's comprehensive institutional-quality infrastructure, commercial real estate capabilities and shared services for marketing, accounting, human resources, legal/compliance, due diligence and other functions.
GEORGETOWN AND KYLE — McFarlin Group and its development partner, Stroud Development, are developing two Orchard Park assisted living and memory care communities in Georgetown and Kyle. Orchard Park of Georgetown will be located adjacent to the southern entrance of Del Webb's Sun City Texas, the largest active adult community in Texas, off Williams Drive and Del Webb Boulevard in Georgetown. The 70,000-square-foot Orchard Park of Georgetown will be situated on 6 acres of land with room for expansion. It is expected to break ground by 2012. Meanwhile, Orchard Park of Kyle will be situated on 5 acres within Plum Creek, a 2,200-acre mixed-use, master-planned community, and adjacent to Texas Trust State Bank near Kyle Parkway and Cromwell Drive in Kyle. Both Orchard Park communities are being designed by experienced senior assisted living architect Galier, Tolson and French of Belford. McFarlin Group and Stroud Development have also announced plans for another development south of Houston and anticipate the start of construction on Orchard Park of Odessa in the next few months.
HOUSTON — Steve States of States Mortgage Co. has arranged an $8.65 million loan for the refinance of a 63,000-square-foot medical office building property in Houston. The borrower, a group of physicians, developed the property in 2006. States Mortgage Co. secured the 10-year fixed-rate loan with a sub 5 percent interest rate through one of its bank lending sources.
CARROLLTON — Nathan Denton and Greg Nelson of Lee & Associates have represented the seller, D&D Wood Properties, Ltd., in the sale of a 24,214-square-foot industrial building located at 1910 Old Denton Rd. in Carrollton. Ricky Seigler purchased the property.
HOUSTON, HILLSBORO AND CARROLLTON — John Wall, Jr., Randall Tuller and Maury Bronstein of The Situs Companies represented Lexington Realty Trust in the individual sales of three Texas properties. These properties include a 54,571-square-foot building leased to Kroger located at 13133 Stuebner Ave. in Houston, a 25,396-square-foot building leased to Safeway located at 120 South Waco St. in Hillsboro and a 62,058-square-foot building leased to Ong’s Family located at 3040 North Josey Ln. in Carrollton. All three assets were acquired by various limited partnerships.
AUSTIN — A 481,000-square-foot office and research-and-development building in Austin has entered the market listed at $49.9 million. The building, known as Domain 45, has been fully leased to IBM since 2000 and is located at 11400 Burnet Rd. in Austin. Grubb & Ellis is advising the seller, a partnership of wealthy individuals.
SHENANDOAH — The Woodlands-based J. Beard Real Estate Co. has arranged the sale of a 17,000-square-foot sports and recreation facility located at 17951 Interstate 45 in Shenandoah. The buyer, Sports Culture USA, is planning on remodeling the existing facilities and adding stadium seating to the sports fields. Emilio Guzman of Colliers International represented the buyer, and Josh Feinberg of the J. Beard Real Estate Co. represented the seller, an out-of-state partnership.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA., AND BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — On behalf of Stonegate Real Estate Investments, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) secured $70 million for the refinancing of two Class A office properties in Oklahoma City and Birmingham. The properties include the 298,510-square-foot Quail Springs Parkway Plaza in Oklahoma City and the four-building, 4,000-acre mixed-use Urban Center Office Portfolio in Birmingham. Wells Fargo provided the two 10-year, fixed-rate senior mortgage notes. Tom Melody of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Houston office led the Jones Lang LaSalle team.
HOUSTON — Jeffrey Fript of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services’ Houston office has arranged the sale of the Village of Fondren Apartments, a 72-unit property located at 6255 West Airport Rd. in Houston, to a Miami-based company for $2.85 million. The buyer, also represented by Jeffrey Fript, plans to reposition the property by renovating the interiors and adding amenities.