CONROE – An investment partnership sponsored by Houston-based Vista Equities Group has acquired a 39,000-square-foot office building located at 333 N. Rivershire Dr. in Conroe. The property was 50 percent occupied at the time of acquisition. Vista Equities Group plans expansive renovations and Robert Graham of The Marion Franke Team in Conroe will serve as the building’s leasing agent. Woody Mann of Vista Equities Group negotiated the property acquisition, while James Coleman of First National Bank handled the financing.
HOUSTON – Caleb Lawson has joined Avison Young’s brokerage operations in Houston as a principal and member of the corporate services group. He will focus on local tenant representation and portfolio management services for clients with national and international locations. He brings 14 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. Previously, he was the founder and president of Lawson Group, a Houston-based firm specializing in tenant representation.
DALLAS, FORT WORTH, HOUSTON AND SAN ANTONIO – New York-based AREA Property Partners and Atlanta-based Wood Partners, in a joint venture, have acquired a nine-property multifamily portfolio in Texas, totaling 2,589 units. Five properties are located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, three in Houston and one in San Antonio. Built between 1997 and 2007, the properties range from studio to four-bedroom apartments with an average apartment size of more than 1,100 square feet. Included in the purchase are Mansions at Stonebridge, Mansions by the Lake, Mansions by the Vineyard, Villas on the Green and Estates at North Richland Hills, all in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, specifically in Coppell, Euless and North Richland Hills.
LUBBOCK – Pittsburgh-based McKinney Properties has purchased U Lofts, a 299-unit, mid-rise student housing complex in Lubbock serving Texas Tech University, for $16.2 million. Located adjacent to the university’s primary entrance, U Lofts includes 11,000 square feet of commercial space and a 500-space parking garage. It was built in 1968 and renovated between 2008 and 2010. Dorothy Jackman and Travis Prince of Marcus & Millichap’s Student Housing Group represented the seller.
FORT WORTH – Fort Worth-based NAI Huff Partners has merged with the central region of Houston-based Transwestern. The merger expands Transwestern’s operations into the Fort Worth market with the addition of 30 team members from the NAI Huff Partners team. Transwestern will have 90 brokers and more than 39 million square feet of leasing and/or management business in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex with this latest merger.
ANN ARBOR, MICH. – Sterling University Housing, the student housing division of The Dinerstein Companies, a Houston-based company that builds and operates apartment communities in 27 different states, has acquired 4Eleven Lofts near the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The 96-unit, 342-bed student housing community was 100 percent occupied at closing. Built in 2009, 4Eleven Lofts is a 10-story, high-rise community located two blocks from the University of Michigan’s Central Campus and in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor. It features 10-foot ceilings, flat panel HD televisions, modern kitchens and single or shared bedrooms. The property was in escrow for approximately 60 days and was purchased for an undisclosed amount. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler represented the parties involved in the transaction.
HOUSTON — A joint venture between Boca Raton, Fla.-based Crocker Partners and Stamford, Conn.-based Five Mile Capital Partners has acquired the 1.2 million-square-foot Lakes on Post Oak office complex in Houston's Galleria submarket. The Class A property, which is 89 percent leased, is adjacent to The Galleria Shopping Center with close access to U.S. Highway 59, the 610 West Loop and the Westpark Tollway. The office property includes three buildings: the 440,000-square-foot 3000 Post Oak Blvd.; the 421,000-square-foot 3040 Post Oak Blvd.; and the 334,000-square-foot 3050 Post Oak Blvd. Crocker Partners' predecessor entity, CRT Properties, once owned Lakes on Post Oak before the entity was sold in 2005. The purchase marks a re-entry into Texas for Crocker Partners and Five Mile Capital Partners first major acquisition in the Houston market.
AUSTIN — The American Heart Association has sold its 23,098-square-foot office building, located at 1700 Rutherford Ln. in Austin, to an undisclosed local non-profit occupant. Walter Saad, Cathy Nabours, Colin Armstrong and Blake Lloyd of CB Richard Ellis' Fort Worth office represented the American Heart Association, while Conley Covert of Skyles Bayne represented the buyer. The American Heart Association will call the Quarry Oaks campus on Stonelake Boulevard its new home, relocating its local office and regional affiliate headquarters.
DALLAS AND FORT WORTH — The Dallas office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF), led by Senior Managing Director John Brownlee, has arranged approximately $30 million for three multifamily communities in Dallas and Fort Worth for Price Realty Corp. and its president, Mike Ochstein, through HFF's Freddie Mac Program Plus® Seller/Servicer program. The three properties include the 600-unit Preston Pointe at 14041 Preston Rd. in Dallas; the 316-unit Havenwood Apartments at 6501 Boca Raton Blvd. in Fort Worth; and the 274-unit Copper Creek Apartments at 6011 Oakland Hills Dr. in Fort Worth. All three properties range from 90 to 95 percent occupied.
LAWTON, OKLA. AND ENNIS, TEXAS — Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II has acquired Lawton Medical Office Building Portfolio, a two-property medical office building portfolio on the campus of Southwestern Medical Center in Lawton, Okla., and Ennis Medical Office Building, a 30,000-square-foot medical office in Ennis, Texas. Located at 5604 and 5606 SW Lee Blvd., the Lawton Medical Office Building Portfolio is comprised of two three-story Class A single-tenant facilities totaling approximately 62,000 square feet. The buildings are fully leased to the medical center until 2023, with options that could extend the leases until 2033. The Oklahoma medical portfolio was acquired from Southwestern MOB I, LLC. Built in 2008, Ennis Medical Office Building is a single-story, multi-tenant medical office building located adjacent to Ennis Regional Medical Center, a 60-bed acute-care facility serving the Dallas suburb. It is 95 percent leased to tenants that include a primary medical services provider, an outpatient surgery center and an internal medicine practice. The Ennis medical building was acquired from New Bardwell Partners, LP, which was represented by Jim Moloney of Cain Brothers.