GALVESTON, TEXAS — The Harbor House, a 42-room hotel in Galveston, has reopened for business after being damaged during Hurricane Ike. Located on Pier 21, the hotel has not completely recovered from the storm and elevator service will not be available until mid-April. Additionally, the nine adjacent boat slips are still undergoing repairs. The Olympia Restaurant, which is located on the harbor side of the hotel, is slated to open in June. Harbor House is the second of three historic Galveston hotels owned by Cynthia and George Mitchell to reopen.
Texas
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Grafford Investment Group LLC has acquired Les Jardin Apartments in Fort Worth. The 77-unit, Class C apartment community is located in southwest Fort Worth at 2901 Travis Ave. At the time of acquisition, the property was 89 percent occupied. Lifestyles Realty represented the buyer; Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Columbus, Ohio-based Les Jardin Holdings Co., in the transaction. The sales price was not disclosed.
PLANO, TEXAS — EaglePicher Medical Power LLC has leased 20,000 square feet of research and development space at Jupiter Service Center in East Plano. The company plans to employ 30 people, including 25 new hires for R&D and administrative positions. Located at 10009 Jupiter Rd., the property is slated to open in March. The center will include laboratories and equipment for testing and manufacturing lithium batteries. Kathy Permenter and Russ Johnson of Grubb & Ellis Co. represented the landlord, Dallas-based Kodiak Capital, in the transaction.
FORT WORTH AND GREENVILLE, TEXAS — Cushman & Wakefield of Texas (C&W) has brokered two Dallas-area multifamily sales. In Fort Worth, C&W arranged the sale of Les Jardin Apartments, a 77-unit, Class C property located at 2901 Travis Ave. The community comprises four, two-story buildings and was 89 percent occupied at the time of closing. C&W’s Stephanie Mower, Barney McAuley. Brandon Beeson and Mart Martindale represented the seller, Columbus, Ohio-based Les Jardin Holding Co.; the buyer, Grafford Investment Group, was represented by Brad Sumrok of Lifestyles Realty. In Greenville, Martindale brokered the sale of the 65-unit Lakeway Apartments on behalf of the undisclosed seller. The property was acquired by El Paso, Texas-based El Paso Rivera Investments, which plans to invest in a capital improvements program for the property in the near-term. Occupancy was 68 percent at the time of closing.
HOUSTON — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of the former Bissonnet Corner Restaurant, a vacant 3,021-square-foot restaurant located 12180 Bissonnet St. in Houston. The property was originally built in 1985 and was renovated in 2000. Justin Miller of Marcus & Millichap’s Houston office represented the seller, a Texas-based private investor. The property was purchased by another Texas-based private investor/user. The acquisition price was not released, but the property listed for $500,000.
DALLAS — Dallas-based The Allen Group has leased 313,040 square feet within Dallas Logistics Hub, the company’s 6,000-acre, multimodal logistics park located in Dallas, to Advanced H2O. The bottled water and beverage producer will occupy approximately half of DLH Building 1, which is located at 4800 Langdon Rd. The recently completed facility totals 635,040 square feet; it features cross docking, 32-foot clear ceiling heights and 126 loading docks. The building is also in the process of receiving LEED certification. Advanced H2O will use the facility for production and distribution; it will occupy the space for a 15-year term.
HOUSTON — Renovations are being completed for three of the co-anchors at Westchase Shopping Center, a 235,539-square-foot shopping center located in Houston that is owned by locally based Weingarten Realty Investors. Target recently completed a $3 million renovation and expansion that included the re-branding of the store as a Super Target. Construction included a 5,000-square-foot addition, a new Starbucks Coffee located inside the store, a new photo studio and a doubling in size of the grocery department. In addition, Randalls Food Market completed extensive renovations to its own location. Finally, Ross Dress for Less has renewed its lease and will soon begin construction of a 6,700-square-foot addition to the store.
KATY, TEXAS — The Houston office of NorthMarq Capital has secured $2.65 million in first-mortgage financing for Westland Center, a 29,723-square-foot retail center located in Katy. Tenants at the property include Fidelity Title, Jackson Hewitt, Floor TX, State Farm and Ruthie’s Mexican Restaurant. Terms of the loan include a 2-year term and interest-only payments. NorthMarq’s Roger Trapnell and Warren Hitchcock arranged the loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower through Texas Capital Bank.
HOUSTON — Denver-based ProLogis has leased approximately 147,000 square feet of distribution space in Houston to third-party logistics provider OHL. The Tennessee-based company will occupy space within a recently completed building at ProLogis NorthPark, a four-building, approximately 500,000-square-foot distribution park located along Interstate 45, north of Beltway 8. This lease marks OHL’s 11th transaction with ProLogis, with OHL now occupying approximately 2.8 million square feet of distribution space nationwide within ProLogis-owned parks. Additional tenants at ProLogis NorthPark include Anna’s Linens, Proinlosa Energy Corp., Cyclone Enterprises and Labrada Bodybuilding Nutrition. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
BELTON, TEXAS — Needham, Mass-based Potomac Realty Capital has arranged $7.3 million in permanent financing for a 202-unit apartment community located in Belton. The loan carries an interest rate of 6.41 percent and was provided by Fannie Mae. Proceeds were used to retire an existing bridge loan — also secured by Potomac — that was taken out 12 months ago by the Dallas-based owner to complete a capital improvements program to the property.