HOUSTON, TEXAS — VC Barcelona has received a $2.67 million loan to acquire the 127-unit Barcelona Apartments. The property is located at 6434 Ella Lee Lane in Houston. An undisclosed life insurance company financed the 5-year loan, which carries a fixed interest rate of 6.18 percent. Brandon Brown of The Woodlands, Texas-based LMI Capital secured the loan.
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS — Austin, Texas-based Phase I Builders has completed the initial phase of NAI Huff Partners and Lancewood Corp.’s renovation of the 144,216-square-foot The Shoppes at Crown Point. The first phase consists of a 33,496-square-foot building and a 13,400-square-foot building; tenants include Frijoles Mexican Restaurant, Hunan Wok Chinese Restaurant and Rufe Snow Travel. The property, located at the intersection of Loop 820 and Rufe Snow Drive in North Richland Hills, was formerly known as Crossroads Village Shopping Center. Dallas-based TGS Architects designed the space. Officials will break ground on the second phase on September 1.
BRYAN, TEXAS — The 100-unit Best Western Atrea at Old Town Center has opened at 1920 Austin’s Colony Pkwy. in Bryan. Each unit includes a flatscreen television and high-speed Internet. Property amenities include a pool, a hot tub, more than 4,000 square feet of conference space and a fitness center.
CANYON LAKE, TEXAS — Austin, Texas-based Zapalac/Reed Construction Co. will being construction this month on the 20,000-square-foot Tye Preston Memorial Library in Canyon Lake. The new building, which will be located on South Access Road, will replace the library’s current home, a 5,568-square-foot building originally built in 1977. San Antonio-based RVK Architects is designing the project, which is expected to deliver during the middle of next year.
While the San Antonio office market has not been as directly impacted by the national economic slowdown as other markets, it is being impacted by excess deliveries and slower absorption overall. This has led to slightly lower effective rents and a rise in vacancy rates. Previously stable markets, in general, are holding level occupancies; however, there are several pockets where the vacancy rate exceeds 20 to 30 percent. This is primarily a result of newly constructed space that is not being absorbed, rather than tenants moving out of existing office space. Many would anticipate a larger reduction in rents with the current vacancy levels, but rents have not declined to the extent one would expect in a down market, as newer buildings continue to market their space at higher rents and existing stable building owners have declined to reduce rates to any significant degree. Two transactions in particular have impacted the San Antonio market in a very positive fashion. The sale of the 150,000-square-foot 300 Concord Plaza, Tesoro’s old headquarters, to Whataburger, which is relocating its home office to San Antonio from Corpus Christi, is worth noting. This transaction subdued concerns of the impact this vacancy would have had on …
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — Collegiate Development Construction Services I, LLC, will build Texas A&M University’s new 250-unit student housing project in College Station. TAMU University Apartments, which is being designed to meet LEED Homes Silver standards, will be located on approximately 6.5 acres at University Drive and College Avenue. The six-building community will span 239,795 square feet and will include 293 on-site parking spaces. Amenities at TAMU University Apartments will include a commons area with picnic tables and barbeque grills, bicycle racks and a separate common laundry building. Completion is scheduled for July 2010.
SUGAR LAND, TEXAS — Tradition Senior Living, LP, has plans to develop a full-service retirement community in Sugar Land called The Tradition-Sugar Land. The resort-style project, which will be the first Continuum Care Retirement Community (CCRC) in southwest Houston and eastern Fort Bend County, will feature accommodations for both independent and assisted-living residents. Located off Highway 6 between U.S. Highway 59 and Texas Highway 90A, the gated community will be situated within Lake Pointe Town Center, a mixed-use development in First Colony. Planned Community Developers, Ltd., is the developer of First Colony, which is a 9,700-acre master-planned community in Sugar Land. Amenities at The Tradition-Sugar Land include a fitness facility with an indoor pool, limited-access garage parking, and a wireless emergency response system. Opening is planned for mid-2011.
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — Trademark Property has signed 11 new tenants to its retail and restaurant roster at La Palmera mall in Corpus Christi. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Grimaldi’s Coal Brick-Oven Pizzeria and Charming Charlie will open in spring 2010; VANS, Verizon Wireless, MTV Nails, Sarku Japan, Subway, Coffee Beanery, H.J. Smoothies & Creamery, and Pretzel Maker will open this fall. The mall is currently undergoing a $50 million renovation.
DALLAS — Jackson, Miss.-based EastGroup Properties has acquired a three-property distribution center portfolio located in Dallas. The properties total 227,000 square feet and are situated in the city’s Northwest submarket along Stemmons Freeway. They were constructed between 1979 and 1981, and currently have an occupancy of 87 percent by six tenants. EastGroup plans to rename them Interstate Distribution Center V, VI an VII. The seller and the acquisition price were undisclosed.
SAN ANTONIO — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of the eighth floor of the Falcon Building, an office tower located at 425 Soledad St. in downtown San Antonio. Greg Gaynor of the firm’s Austin, Texas, office represented the seller, a private investor. The buyer and the acquisition price were not released.