FORT WORTH, TEXAS — The Dallas-based Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) North Texas Health Care System, along with the Dallas office of BremnerDuke Healthcare Real Estate, have broken ground for a new VA Outpatient Clinic in Fort Worth. Located at 2031 SE Loop 820, the new facility will total 239,256 square feet. Once it opens in 2010, it will be the VA’s largest leased space. It is replacing the existing 48,691-square-foot Fort Worth Outpatient Clinic located at 300 West Rosedale. It is expected that the new VA clinic will handle a workload of 165,238 visitors annually by 2025.
Texas
DALLAS — Business law firm Scheef & Stone has relocated its corporate headquarters to Lincoln Plaza, located at 500 North Akard in downtown Dallas. The company will occupy 25,436 square feet on the 27th floor of the tower. Scheef & Stone is relocating from its previous Dallas office within Preston Center, located at 5956 Sherry Lane. The company expects to move to its new location by the end of the month. William Hale of the Dallas office of CB Richard Ellis represented the landlord, The California State Teachers’ Retirement System. The tenant was represented by Bo Bond and Brooke Armstrong of Jones Lang LaSalle. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
PEARLAND, TEXAS — Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL & Associates Properties has held the grand opening for one of the anchors for the retail component of Pearland Town Center, a 1.2 million-square-foot mixed-use center located in the Houston suburb of Pearland. The store, a 140,000-square-foot Dillard’s, will join co-anchor Macy’s in the 718,000-square-foot, open-air lifestyle center. Other tenants include Barnes & Noble, Forever 21, Coach, Pac Sun, Red Robin and Mimi’s Café. The center held its grand opening in July.
EL PASO, TEXAS — Albuquerque, N.M.-based The Vaughan Company has completed the sale of a three-property multifamily portfolio in El Paso. The three apartment communities include The Village Apartments, an 87-unit property located at 5900 Enterprise Court; Village Two Apartments, a 72-unit property located at 140 Shadow Mountain Dr.; and Three Fountains Apartments, a 77-unit property located at 368 Shadow Mountain Dr. The Vaughan Company’s Richard Abel represented both undisclosed parties in the transaction. Acquisition financing was obtained from The Bank of Albuquerque.
HOUSTON — Capmark Finance has secured a $13.2 million loan for the refinancing of Briarwood Village Apartments, a 342-unit multifamily community located in the Briar Forest/Ashford submarket of Houston. Situated on approximately 13.6 acres, the property comprises 27 two-story, garden-style buildings. Unit amenities include patios or balconies, fireplaces and central air conditioning. Community amenities include a fitness center, two swimming pools and two laundry rooms. Scott Dow of Capmark’s Boston office originated the financing on behalf of the borrower, an affiliate of Boston-based Berkshire Property Advisors. The lender was Freddie Mac.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA. — The Houston office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) has arranged $9.74 million in acquisition financing for Atrium Towers, twin six-story office buildings located in Oklahoma City. Situated near the intersection of Interstate 44 and Centennial Expressway, the buildings total 156,106 square feet. They had a combined occupancy rate of 95 percent at the time of closing. Tucker Knight and Brad Ballard of HFF secured the loan on behalf of the borrower, Houston-based Principle Equity Management. Terms of the financing include a 7-year term with a fixed interest rate. The lender was Plano, Texas-based ViewPoint Bank.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — The grand opening will be held this weekend for Alliance Town Center, a 1.5 million-square-foot power center located at the intersection of Interstate 35 and Heritage Trace Parkway in Fort Worth. Opening this weekend is the approximately 500,000-square-foot, first phase of the project. Approximately 20 tenants are already open for business including retailers Belk, JC Penney, Best Buy, Hobby Lobby, PetSmart and Ulta; as well as restaurants Cheddar’s, Which Wich, Jason’s Deli and Smoothie King. A 256,865-square-foot Sam Moon is currently under construction and scheduled to open in March 2009. Future phases will add a large grocer, a movie theater, a national bookstore and a large sporting goods store to the tenant roster. Alliance Town Center is a joint venture development between locally based developers Hillwood and Trademark Property Co. It is part of AllianceTexas, a 19,000-acre master-planned community that also comprises an airport, more than 7,000 acres of industrial space, 800 acres of office space, 2,700 single-family homes and 5,000 multifamily residential units.
RICHMOND, VA. — In conjunctions with its plans to close 155 underperforming retail locations nationwide, Richmond-based Circuit City has announced the closing of nine Texas locations. The stores are located in Burleson, Cedar Park, Dallas, Houston, League City, Mansfield, McKinney, Sherman and Temple. Each market will see one Circuit City location close, and Sherman will see Circuit City exit the market with the closing of the city’s only location.Circuit City is closing stores in 55 U.S. markets and will be exiting 12 of those markets entirely. In addition, the retailer is reducing future store openings and aggressively renegotiating select leases.
NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS — Dallas-based BMC Capital has arranged $2.1 million in acquisition financing for Laurel Heights Apartments, a 72-unit multifamily community located at 483 Laurel Lane in New Braunfels. Terms of the loan include an 80 percent loan-to-value ratio, a 10-year term with a 30-year amortization schedule, and a fixed interest rate. The borrower was an out-of-state, 1031 exchange investor. The lender was not disclosed.
BEDFORD, TEXAS — Primary Realty Assets LP, an affiliate of Fort Worth, Texas-based Mallick Group, has acquired a five-story, 87,000-square-foot office building located at 2701 Brown Trail in Bedford. The property had been vacant for more than 1 year. The seller, Boise, Idaho-based Pleasant Valley LP, was represented by Steve Shrum of Dallas-based Glacier Commercial Realty. Primary Realty Assets acquired the property on behalf of the company’s Private Wealth Fund for an undisclosed amount.