GARLAND, TEXAS — TIG Real Estate Services has brokered the acquisition of a 43,000-square-foot warehouse located at 2747 Oakland Ave. in Garland. The buyer was Kingsley Industrial and the seller was Northfield Properties. Michael Grant and Ryan Wolcott of TIG handled negotiations, with Chris Stout of Bradford representing the owner.
Overall, the Austin office market is facing many of the challenges that other major metropolitan areas are confronting. However, the Austin market has relatively strong employment fundamentals and continues to attract office-using employers and skilled employees. The office market should rebound earlier and stronger than the national bounceback once positive absorption returns, with the South, Southeast and CBD submarkets leading the way. Austin currently boasts the strongest employment market of any major metropolitan area in the country, though significant weakening in the office sector is projected due to overbuilding. The amount of vacant space increased by more than 1 million square feet in 2008, an addition of 14 percent to existing inventory. These additions shifted the leverage in lease negotiations to tenants, resulting in lower rents and elevated concessions; this was particularly true in the Northwest and Round Rock/Georgetown/Cedar Park submarkets, which experienced the greatest increases in inventory. As a result, asking rents are forecast to fall to $24.66 per square foot, and effective rents are projected to end 2009 at $20.72 per square foot, annual declines of 6.2 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively. Office investment sales have slowed as financing constraints hamper the market. The median sales price, however, …
LUBBOCK, TEXAS — The Overton Hotel and Conference Center, a 303-room hotel located in Lubbock, has opened. The $66 million project was developed as a public/private partnership between the City of Lubbock, owner/operator 1859 Historic Hotels Ltd. and developer Garfield Traub Development. It totals 15 stories and contains more than 20,000 square feet of meeting space, including an 11,250-square-foot ballroom. Amenities include a business center, a fitness center, a restaurant, a bar and an outdoor pool. The second floor of the hotel also contains a classroom for the Restaurant/Hotel & Institutional Management program at nearby Texas Tech University. The general contractors for the project were Turner Construction Co. and Lee Lewis Contractors. The project architect was DLR Group.
HOUSTON — Grubb & Ellis has brokered the purchase of a 34,396-square-foot industrial building located at 2001 Cavalcade St. in Houston. Rob Stillwell of Grubb & Ellis represented the seller, 2001 Cavalcade Inc.; Beto Carrsco of Citiquest Properties represented the buyer, Reforma Properties. In addition, Bill Burge and Mark Lehman of Grubb & Ellis represented Williams Consolidated in the leasing of 22,672 square feet of industrial space at 4930 Cranswick Rd. in Houston. Joe MacDougall with MacDougall Co. represented the landlord, 4930 Cranswick, Ltd.
AUSTIN AND TEMPLE, TEXAS — Five Guys Burgers & Fries has signed leases to open two new restaurants in Texas. The first is a 2,851-square-foot restaurant located within The Arboretum in Austin, and the second is a 2,500-square-foot restaurant located within Bird Creek Crossing in Temple. Mike Minicucci and Robert O'Farrell of SRS Real Estate Partners represented Five Guys in lease negotiations. Five Guys currently has five locations in Central Texas. In the past year, SRS has helped the company sign leases for locations in San Antonio, Austin and Harker Heights, Texas.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Vertical construction has topped out for The Austonian, a 56-story residential tower located in downtown Austin. The 683-foot tower, which was designed by Ziegler Cooper Architects, is located at the intersection of Congress Avenue and Second Street. Upon completion in spring 2010, The Austonian will contain 178 condominiums and more than 40,000 square feet of amenity space. Benchmark Development is the developer of the project and Second Congress, Ltd. is the owner.
HOUSTON — Houston-based Midway Cos. has opened THE LOFTS CITYCENTRE. The 250-unit project is part of the $500 million CITYCENTRE mixed-use project located in downtown Houston. The residences are situated above retail and restaurant space. Amenities include concierge service, a fitness center, resident terraces and a recreation lounge.
GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS. — Henry S. Miller Brokerage (HSMB) has negotiated the sale of an 11,120-square-foot industrial building located in Grand Prairie. The building is situated on 1 acre at 401 E. Trinity Blvd. within a recently developed industrial park. Pete Richardson and Drew Richardson of HSMB represented the seller, PPG Real Estate Partners. Jim Leatherwood, also of HSMB, represented the buyer a Tarrant County-based company that plans to use the facility as its corporate headquarters.
There are several trends that are shaping the Dallas industrial market right now. The uncertainty of financial markets and lack of liquidity is certainly hampering the market. Limited access to capital is withholding business expansion. We are also working with motivated landlords that are helping make successful tenant representation transactions, whether it is a restructure or a new deal. Equity is sitting back and waiting for values to continue to fall. I’m seeing short-term commitments on renewals; tenants are reluctant to make large commitments. There is minimum activity in the market as tenants are just making do with what they have. There is growing space availability as more bankruptcies create more inventory — and also opportunities. For example, tenants like Home Interiors and Fitz & Floyd have left the market, creating more available space. There are many 30,000-square-foot to 80,000-square-foot clients in the market but not as many big deals. We have made some deals on space and land that had previously not been available. Tenants are looking for facilities with extra storage areas and ability to secure the truck court. Facilities that have access to DFW airport and 30-foot clear height or greater are a big plus in this …
DALLAS — Atlanta-based InterContinental Hotels Group is nearing completion for the new Crowne Plaza Dallas Downtown. Located at 1015 Elm St., the project consists of the $14 million conversion of the former Hampton Inn Dallas – West End – Convention Center. As part of the project, all 300 rooms were renovated, more than 22,000 square feet of new meeting space was added, the TEN15 Elm restaurant was built and a new nightclub named THRIVE was added. Existing amenities at the hotel include a business center, a fitness center, and a ninth-floor, rooftop pool for the 23-story hotel. Completion is expected at the end of the month. The hotel is the fifth Crowne Plaza in the Dallas area.