ARLINGTON, TEXAS — A joint venture between Baltimore-based Alex. Brown Realty (ABR) and Dallas-based Price Realty Corp. has acquired Hunters Point Apartments, a 272-unit, garden-style apartment community located in Arlington. The gated complex features a clubhouse, a business center, a fitness center, two pools, one tennis court and 487 surface parking spaces. The joint venture plans to continue a renovation plan initiated by the seller; ABR and Price will invest approximately $4,200 per unit over the next 2 years for interior renovations. ABR Chesapeake Fund III, a real estate investment fund sponsored by ABR, provided $5.9 million in equity to the venture for the purchase. Price will serve as the property management team for Hunters Point. The ABR and Price joint venture will also assume the property’s existing first mortgage loan with Bank of America. The fixed-rate, interest-only loan matures in May 2015.
RICHARDSON, TEXAS — A joint venture between Dallas-based companies Winston Capital Corp. and L&B Realty Advisors, and Lansing, Mich.-based Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan, has procured $47.35 million in construction financing for Brick Row, a 500-unit multifamily community located in Richardson. Scheduled for completion in mid-2010, Brick Row will contain the residential units and 16,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space situated around two central parking structures in a park-like setting. The project is part of a larger master-planned community that will include townhomes, condominiums, retail space and a public park. The financing was arranged for the joint venture by Andy Scott of the Dallas office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler. The lender is a three-bank syndication led by Colonial Bank, a division of Montgomery, Ala.-based Colonial BancGroup. The other two banks were Dallas-based Texas Capital Bank and San Antonio-based Broadway Bank. The loan carries a 3-year term.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the sale of 305 Place Apartments, a 32-unit multifamily community located at 305 W. 35th St. in Austin. The community is located near the campus of the University of Texas. Todd Sherrer of Marcus & Millichap’s Austin office listed the property on behalf of the seller, and Steve Hollingsworth, also with the firm’s Austin office, secured the locally based buyer. The acquisition price was undisclosed.
SUGAR LAND, TEXAS — Sugar Land-based Planned Community Developers (PCD) has announced plans for its third office building at the Sugar Land Town mixed-use development in Sugar Land. The new building will be located at 2245 Texas Dr., and it will consist of a six-story structure with 166,561 square feet of Class A office space and 13,176 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The building will feature a sky bridge connecting its second floor to the second floor of an existing parking garage located directly across the street. Completion is scheduled for the first quarter of 2010. At Sugar Land Town Square PCD is also developing the Minute Maid office tower, an eight-story, 200,000-square-foot, Class A office tower that will be home to the corporate headquarters of Minute Maid upon completion in January 2009. PCD also has plans to build a two-story office building at 2185 Texas Dr. that will contain 9,000 square feet of office space over 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Upon full-build out in 2010, Sugar Land Town Square will contain 566,004 square feet of Class A office space and 238,779 square feet of retail space.
HOUSTON — The Houston office of CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has brokered the sale of a 188,804-square-foot industrial facility located at 6247 Navigation in Houston. Situated on 10.82 acres, the property was formerly housed Collingswood, N.J.-based John Maneely Company’s (JMC) Seminole Wheatland Tube Facility. Michael Palmer, John Simons and Susana Rosas of CBRE represented JMC in the transaction. The property was acquired by Miami-based Elite Sales, which will be relocating to the building from its current, 40,000-square-foot location at 2003 Edwards St. in Houston. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
HOUSTON — Buena Park, Calif.-based Tawa Supermarket has signed a lease to open a 99 Ranch Market grocery store within Blalock Market Shopping Center, a retail project under development by Houston-based Weingarten Realty that is located on Katy Freeway between Loop 610 and Beltway 8 in Houston. The supermarket, which specializes in Asian foods, will anchor the shopping center with an 83,791-square-foot location. When the 99 Ranch Market opens in early summer 2009 it will mark the first Texas location for the grocer.
HUTCHINS, TEXAS — A joint venture between Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis Realty Trust (CBRE) and Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Corp. has acquired an 822,550-square-foot warehouse/distribution facility located on East Pleasant Road Run in the Dallas suburb of Hutchins. The Class A, build-to-suit facility is fully occupied by Unilever. It is part of a four-property, $139.1 million acquisition by the joint venture. The other properties are located in Indianapolis; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Nashville, Tenn. The portfolio totals approximately 2.23 million square feet. CBRE and Duke formed the joint venture in May of this year with the intent to acquire up to $800 million in newly developed, build-to-suit properties over the next 3 years.
STAFFORD, TEXAS — Houston-based AVERA has broken ground for the development of Parker Corporation Energy Products Division Headquarters in Stafford. Situated on 5.4 acres at the intersection of Cash Road and Dublin Court, the 60,000-square-foot facility will serve as the head office for Parker Corp.’s Energy Product Line, and will serve as the center of operations for assembly, testing and warehousing for the product line. The Class A structure will be built with tilt walls, and will have the capacity for future expansion. AVERA sold the site to Parker in 2008, and will be serving as developer for the project. San Marcos, Texas-based K-W Construction will provide general contracting services, and Boston-based Three Square Design will serve as project architect. The construction timetable was not released.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Hendricks & Partners has brokered the sale of Fountainhead, a 129-unit multifamily community located at 4100 Victory Dr. in Austin. Originally constructed in 1983, the property has recently undergone a complete exterior painting. The community features parking below the buildings, two elevators and three laundry rooms. Ellen Muskin and George Deuillet III of Hendricks & Partners’ Austin office negotiated the transaction. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
GRAND PRAIRIE AND ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Grubb & Ellis has arranged the sale of a four-building warehouse/distribution portfolio located in metro Dallas. The portfolio totals 325,745 square feet and consists of the three-building Northcourt Center, located in 901-909 Avenue T in Grand Prairie, as well as a building located at 2224 E. Randol Mill Rd. in Arlington. The portfolio is fully leased to 10 tenants. Lizzy Blake of Grubb & Ellis’ Dallas office represented the seller, Morristown, N.J.-based MetLife Real Estate Investments. The portfolio was acquired by Chicago-based Lincoln Advisory Group on behalf of Columbia Industrial Properties. The acquisition price was not disclosed.