MCKINNEY, TEXAS — Dallas-based Henry S. Miller Commercial (HSMC) has arranged the purchase of a 12-acre development parcel located at the corner of Community Avenue and White Street in McKinney. It was acquired by Dallas-based King Private Equity Fund, which plans to partner with another company to develop a multifamily project on the property, or sell the parcel. The site is surrounded by retail, single-family homes and a Raytheon campus. Tom Grunnah and Anderson Ngo of HSMC represented the buyer. The seller was Sherman, Texas-based Ruby Boom Ltd. the purchase price was not disclosed.
HOUSTON — Grubb & Ellis has brokered the sale of a 34,286-square-foot industrial building, located at 10010 Gulf Freeway in Houston. Rob Stillwell and Jay Jenckes of Grubb & Ellis’ Houston office represented the buyer, PEJ Real Estate Interests LP. The property was sold by Ruhrpumpen for $2.2 million.
TEMPLE, SAN ANTONIO AND ABILENE, TEXAS — Mission Viejo, Calif.-based The Ensign Group, the parent company of the Ensign brand of senior care facilities, has acquired four Ensign skilled nursing facilities for $10.4 million. Three of the properties are located in Texas; they include the 140-bed Wellington Place Living & Rehabilitation Center in Temple, the 120-bed Salado Creek Living & Rehabilitation Center in San Antonio and the 96-bed Northern Oaks Living & Rehabilitation Center in Abilene. The fourth property is a 70-bed, skilled nursing facility located in Willits, Calif. The properties were acquired from the seller, a long-time Ensign landlord, by four separate Ensign holding subsidiaries. Ensign operating subsidiaries previously have been operating the facilities, and will continue to operate them under new long-term leases with the acquisition entities. Proceeds from Ensign’s recent initial public offering were used to complete the purchase.
HOUSTON — CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has arranged the purchase of a 26.49-acre industrial development parcel located at the corner of Pinemont Drive and U.S. Highway 290 in Houston. The buyer, locally based oilfield services company TAM International, plans to construct a 150,000-square-foot manufacturing plant on the site. The parcel acquired in the transaction is situated near the company’s existing facilities on Southerland Road. Michael Palmer, John Simons and Susana Rosas of CBRE’s Houston office provided representation for TAM, which acquired the site in an off-market transaction from Sueba Investments. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
HOUSTON — A partnership led by Houston-based Wile Interests has acquired two land parcels totaling more than 16 acres at the intersection of Katy Freeway and Greenhouse Road in the Energy Corridor submarket of Houston. The parcels comprise a more than 13-acre tract located at the southeast corner of the intersection and a 3-acre tract located at the southwest corner. Combined, the parcels feature more than 1,600 feet of frontage along Katy Freeway. They sit across the freeway from two new hospitals under construction, which are scheduled to open in 2010. To the immediate west of the property is the 93-acre west campus of Second Baptist church, and to the immediate south is the approximately 1,600-home Green Trails subdivision. Stan Creech of Stan Creech Properties represented the buyer. The seller, Barker Venture, was represented by Mavis Kelsey of Kelsey Commercial Real Estate Services. Future plans for the property were not released.
HOUSTON — The Houston office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) has arranged a loan for the refinancing of Dairy Ashford Plaza, a two-building office property located in the Westchase submarket of Houston. Located at 2000 and 2020 S. Dairy Ashford Rd., the two buildings comprise 105,419 square feet and 107,890 square feet, respectively. Tucker Knight and Steven Gautier of HFF originated the fixed-rate, non-recourse financing on behalf of the borrower, DAP Plaza Ltd. The lender is Cincinnati-based Ohio National Financial Services. The amount and terms of the loan were not disclosed.
HOUSTON AND DALLAS — Glendale, Calif.-based DineEquity Inc., a franchisor and operator of Applebee’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill restaurants, has sold 66 company-owned restaurants located in Houston, Dallas and Albuquerque, N.M. The 22 Houston-area restaurants were purchased by Wellington Yu, president of Peterson Group Inc. The 37 Dallas-area restaurants were sold to Sunil Dharod, president and CEO of Synned Inc. The seven Albuquerque-area restaurants were sold to Andy Patel, president of Anand Enterprises and Mina Inc. The Texas transactions are expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2008, and the New Mexico transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2009. The 66 Applebee’s sold in Texas and New Mexico are part of 110 company-owned locations that DineEquity has sold this year. Other restaurants are located in Nevada, Southern California and Delaware. DineEquity expects to generate approximately $63 million in after-tax proceeds from the sales, as well as approximately $50 million in sale-leaseback agreements related to the franchising agreements. Proceeds will be used to reduce DineEquity’s consolidated funded debt obligations.
ALLEN, TEXAS — Phase I construction is completed for Watters Creek at Montgomery Farm, a $333 million, 1.15 million-square-foot mixed-use development located in Allen. The 52-acre project serves as the town center for the 500-acre Montgomery Farm master-planned residential community. The project currently totals 620,000 square feet, including 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 90,000 square feet of office space and 230 residential units. Future phases will include additional residential, retail, restaurant and office space, as well as a lifestyle hotel. Amenities at Watters Creek include a pedestrian green corridor with a sandstone-lined pond and creek; a natural amphitheater with a town green for performances and other events; a central plaza that runs parallel to the town green; nature walks; and bike trail connections. The project is pursuing LEED certification and, upon receiving the designation, will be the largest LEED-certified mixed-use development in the state. Watters Creek is being developed by a joint venture between Fort Worth, Texas-based Trademark Property Co., New York City-based Coventry Real Estate Advisors, Beachwood, Ohio-based Developers Diversified Corp. and Franklin, Tenn.-based Southern Land Co. The architect of record is Dublin, Ohio-based Meacham & Apel Architects; Texas-based TBG Partners and Baltimore-based Development Design Group …
EL PASO, TEXAS — San Antonio-based K Partners Hospitality Group has broken ground for the construction of a $24 million, two-hotel complex in San Antonio. The 5–acre, $24 million project is located at Remcon Circle, at the southeast intersection of Interstate 10 and North Mesa Street. Construction will consist of a four-story, 103-room Springhill Suites and a four-story, 95-room Fairfield Inn & Suites, both of which are Marriott brands. The Springhill Suites will feature an outdoor swimming pool, a fitness center, 1,100 square feet of meeting space, an executive boardroom and complimentary Internet access. The Fairfield Inn & Suites will feature an indoor swimming pool and whirlpool, 600 square feet of meeting space, an executive boardroom, a business library, ergonomic work areas and complimentary Internet access. The former hotel is expected to open in the second quarter of 2009, while the latter hotel is expected to open in the third quarter of 2009. Construction financing is being provided by Atlanta-based Specialty Finance Group.
HOUSTON — The Houston office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) has completed the sale of Two Riverway, a 17-story, Class A office tower located in the Galleria submarket of Houston. Two Riverway is situated within the 27-acre Riverway master-panned community, which is located on the corner of Post Oak and Woodway Drive. The 369,479-square-foot property is currently 92 percent leased; Chicago Bridge & Iron and IBM are the tower’s two main tenants, jointly occupying 55 percent of the building’s total space. HFF’s H. Dan Miller, Robert Williamson, Marty Hogan and Trent Agnew represented the seller, Coventry Fund X, which is an affiliate of Coventry Realty Advisors. The buyer was Two Riverway Holdings LLC, which is a subsidiary of Donerail Corp. The acquisition price was not disclosed.