DALLAS AND SAN ANTONIO — The Dallas office of Grubb & Ellis has been selected as leasing agent for the office component of Mercer Crossing, a 1,200-acre mixed-use development located in Dallas. The assignment consists of 1.8 million square feet of Class A office space in three separate office parks. Fenton Centre is located at 1501-1507 LBJ Freeway and comprises two seven-story office buildings. Browning Place is located at 1601-1607 LBJ Freeway and consists of three eight-story office buildings. Hickory Center consists of one eight-story building and two four-story buildings. Grubb & Ellis’ leasing team for the project includes Kathy Permenter, Russ Johnson and Heather Shover. The office component of Mercer Crossing is currently 63.5 percent leased. In addition, Grubb & Ellis’ San Antonio office has been awarded the management assignment for Tesoro Corporation’s new 618,000-square-foot corporate headquarters, located within Ridgewood Park in San Antonio. Situated on 15 acres, the campus includes a 14-story tower and a 6-story mid-rise building, both of which are connected by a main lobby, as well as a 2,400-space parking garage. The management team consists of Eric Forshee, Baryn Mieure, Kris Weideman and Mark Upton. Tesoro will take occupancy of the property in June.
HOUSTON — NAI Houston has brokered the purchase of a newly constructed, 50,740-square-foot industrial building located at 8550 Telephone Rd. in Houston. NAI’s Chris Caudill and Joel Michael represented the buyer, Metal Works Properties. The seller, Cerda Corp., was represented by Stuart Rosen of Greater Houston Commercial Properties. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
HOUSTON — The Woodlands, Texas-based LMI Capital has arranged $3.7 million in acquisition financing for Forest Pointe Apartments, a 270-unit multifamily community located in Houston. LMI’s Brandon Brown secured the loan, which carries a fixed interest rate. The borrower and lender were undisclosed.
DALLAS — Bank of New York Mellon has signed a long-term lease extension for the approximately 78,500 square feet of office space it occupies at Bryan Tower, a 40-story, Class A office tower located at 2001 Bryan St. in Dallas. The tenant’s lease covers three floors of the building. The renewal marks the largest lease transaction in Dallas’ central business district so far this year. Jones Lang LaSalle represented Bank of New York Mellon, as well as the tenant, Spire Realty Group, in lease negotiations. Spire acquired the 1.1 million-square-foot Bryan Tower in 1998 and has since completed $30 million in upgrades to it.
“Are we there yet?” seems to be the big question with the Dallas/Fort Worth office market. The most likely answer is no, there is still tough times ahead. The Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex refused to participate in the recession for most of 2007 and 2008, but the fourth quarter of 2008 started a down trend that has so far continued in the first quarter of 2009. Sales volume is down, rental rates are down and vacancies are up. National annual sales volumes for office properties peeked at nearly $208 billion in 2007 to be followed by a drop of 75 percent in 2008 according to Real Capital Analytics. Sales volume for office investments held up slightly better in the Dallas market decreasing only 65 percent in 2008 as the credit markets began tightening. The rental rates and vacancy percentages held up much better in the DFW Metroplex than did the national averages. According to CoStar DFW hit its high vacancy rate in mid 2003 around 18 percent. Since that time it has steadily dropped with 2007 and 2008 remaining fairly stable at slightly above 16 percent. In 2007 and 2008 the Metroplex added 11,278,582 square feet of new office space …
SAN BENITO, TEXAS — Dallas-based RightQuest will break ground this summer for the Villages at Paseo Real, a two-phase multifamily project located on 18 acres along Paseo Real Highway in San Benito. The Class A community will contain 260 one-, two- and three-bedroom units with rents ranging from $600 to $950. Amenities will include a business center, a fitness center, a clubhouse with a media center, a resort-style swimming pool, a playground, covered parking, storage units and laundry facilities. The second phase of development will possibly include small-shop retail space along Paseo Real Highway. The first units are expected to be available for occupancy by summer 2010. RightQuest is developing the project on behalf of the owner, Brownsville, Texas-based Villages of Paseo Real LP. The project architect is San Antonio-based B&A Architects. The San Antonio office of Capstone Real Estate Services will provide leasing and property management services. Construction financing was provided by IBC Bank.
DEER PARK, TEXAS — Construction is advancing for the first component of Deerwood Glen, a 150-acre business park located at 4400 Highway 225 in Deer Park. The first structure, a two-story, 88,000-square-foot office building, is under construction and scheduled for completion in August. The Class A building is already half pre-leased to an undisclosed anchor tenant. Phased construction of the park will continue over the next couple of years and will ultimately total more than 1 million square feet of Class A office and warehouse space. The project is being developed by Houston-based Clay Development & Construction. Leasing of the project’s four office buildings is being handled by John Pruitt, Jessica Ochoa and John Simons of CB Richard Ellis.
MOUNT PLEASANT, TEXAS — Philadelphia-based Binswanger has brokered the sale of a 162,290-square-foot industrial building, located at 1106 Industrial Blvd. in Mount Pleasant. The facility includes up to 27-foot clear ceiling heights, truck loading capability and rail access. Binswanger represented the seller, Mastercraft. The buyer, Pace Shave, plans to use the facility as a regional distribution center. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
HOUSTON — Charlotte, N.C.-based Grandbridge Real Estate Capital has arranged $7.1 million in construction and mezzanine financing for Corinthian Village Senior Living, a 124-unit affordable senior housing project located in Houston. The project will be the latest phase of the Corinthian Pointe master-planned development. Of the project’s 124 units, 40 of those will be reserved for low-income residents. Amenities will include an activity room, a fitness center and a clubhouse. Completion is scheduled for 2010. The financing package was arranged by Grandbridge’s Jim Kirkpatrick on behalf of the borrowers, George E. Johnson Development and Corinthian Pointe Senior Living Corp. The financing includes a $6.4 million construction loan provided by Trustmark National Bank and a $700,000 mezzanine loan provided by The United Methodist Foundation of the Texas Annual Conference. In addition, the city of Houston provided $3.37 million in HOME funds for the project.
BEAUMONT, TEXAS — Springfield, Mo.-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts has held the grand re-opening for the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites – Beaumont Plaza, located at 3950 I-10 South in Beaumont. The hotel was damaged last year by Hurricane Ike, but remained open during that time as an emergency shelter for displaced workers of the area’s major corporations. The hotel subsequently under went a $7.5 million renovation. Improvements to the 8-story hotel included exterior construction such as signage, landscaping and building repair; fresh paint and vinyl in interior common areas, hallways and the hotel’s 22,000 square feet of convention space; storm damage repairs to the hotel’s 253 rooms and suites; and the construction of a new lobby bar in the atrium.