HOUSTON — Houston-based Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) has been tapped to market a 52-property shopping center portfolio for sale. The seller is Macquarie DDR U.S. Trust Inc., which is controlled by a joint venture between Macquarie Capital Advisors and Developers Diversified Corp. The portfolio contains shopping centers located in 20 states. It totals 12.5 million square feet and has an average occupancy of 88.5 percent. Major tenants include Walmart, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Bed Bath & Beyond, T.J. Maxx, Kohl’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods. As of December 31, 2008, the portfolio was valued at approximately $1.9 billion. HFF’s John Pelusi, Barry Brown, Doug Hazelbaker and Lynn De Marco will lead the sales team. The portfolio can be subdivided to suit the needs of a buyer.
Texas
MCKINNEY, TEXAS ¬— Ag-Power, a farm equipment dealership, has selected Arlington, Texas-based Bob Moore Construction to build a new sales and service center in McKinney. The 60,000-square-foot building will be located on North Central Expressway; it will replace the company’s current McKinney dealership. Bob Moore Construction is serving as general contractor; Dallas-based NCA Partners will serve as project architect. Groundbreaking is slated for this month, with completion expected in February 2010. Ag-Power is one of the state’s leading John Deere dealers. It also carries equipment from Stihl and Honda Power Equipment.
FORT WORTH AND WOOD COUNTY, TEXAS — The Fort Worth office of Sperry Van Ness/Summit Realty has completed the sale of two skilled nursing facilities located in Texas. The first property is an approximately 100-bed facility located in Fort Worth, and the second property is an approximately 80-bed facility located near Tyler in Wood County. Both properties have received extensive upgrades in the past few years. Robyn Jackson of Sperry Van Ness represented both undisclosed parties in the transaction. The seller is based out of Denton, Texas, and the buyer is headquartered out-of-state. The acquisition price was not released.
HOUSTON — Two retailers and a restaurant have held their grand openings within three different Houston shopping centers owned by Centro Properties Group. Melrose has opened a 10,800-square-foot location within Northwood Shopping Center, located at the corner of Eastex Freeway/Route 59 and Aldine Mail Road. Beauty Empire 15 has opened an 8,050-square-foot location within Huntington Village, located at the intersection of Bissonnet Street and Dairy Ashford Road. Finally, Subway has opened a 1,357-square-foot restaurant at Mount Houston Square, located at the corner of Eastex Freeway/Route 59 and West Mount Houston Road.
HOUSTON — Cadence McShane Construction Co. has completed the Carson Portwall Distribution Center on behalf of the developer, The Carson Companies. Located on a 21-acre site in Houston, the two-building project spans 401,338 square feet. Building II, a 162,178-square-foot facility at 221 Portwall St., offers 37 dock high doors and one ground-level ramp. The 239,210-square-foot Building III, which is located at 225 Portwall St., features 54 dock high doors and one ground-level ramp. Both facilities have 30-foot clear heights, ESFR sprinkler systems and secure 180-foot truck courts. The buildings also offer 317 parking spaces. Powers Brown Architecture provided architectural services.
HOUSTON — Chris Wadley and Logan Brown Jr. of Grubb & Ellis’ Houston office recently represented Gillett Properties in the sale of 3 Northpoint Drive. The three-story, approximately 54,000-square-foot office building sold to WW Cole Group Ltd., which represented itself. The building is located in Houston within close proximity to Interstate 45 North and Beltway 8. It is fully leased to the State of Texas.
BAYTOWN, TEXAS — Rent-A-Center has opened a 5,200-square-foot store at Baytown Shopping Center, which is located on the southwest corner of Garth Road and Rollingbrook Street in Baytown. Centro Properties Group owns the center. Stephen Swope of Centro Properties Group represented the company in lease negotiations.
Greater downtown Waco is experiencing a renaissance of growth offering an exciting front door to visitors and residents. This district comprises between 5 and 7 square miles of land right along Interstate 35 in Central Texas. The Brazos River flows through the downtown area, linking Baylor University, Interstate 35, Cameron Park and Cameron Park Zoo. The Downtown Business District encompasses approximately 350 acres, featuring an emerging Central Business District and an array of redevelopment opportunities. Currently, there are approximately 18,000 residents in greater Downtown Waco and 16,000 jobs all within 1.25 miles of the heart of Downtown. There is resurgence in office development in the downtown Waco market. In 2008, an unprecedented 100,000 square feet of Class A office space was added to downtown. A vast majority of the space has been leased. More projects are under development for owner-occupied refurbishment, new construction and speculative lease space. In addition to these office developments, there are several new projects gaining momentum in downtown Waco totaling more than $200 million in new public and private investment. Phase I of Waco Town Square, which is nearing completion, will add 17 acres of mixed-use residential and retail space. This includes the 46-unit Austin Avenue …
GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS — The Dallas office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) has arranged an $8 million loan for the refinancing of Corey Place Apartments, a 276-unit multifamily community located at 602 W. Pioneer Pkwy. in Grand Prairie. The property was renovated in 2008 and was 95 percent occupied at the time of the sale. HFF’s Travis Anderson secured the financing on behalf of Granite Redevelopment. The loan includes a 10-year term and a 5.76 percent fixed interest rate. The lender was Wachovia Multifamily Capital, which utilized Fannie Mae’s DUS program. Proceeds from the loan will be used to refinancing an existing acquisition and rehab loan.
GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS — The former Blue Ribbon Delivery building, a 10,000-square-foot industrial property located at 1314 Oakdale Rd. in Grand Prairie, has been sold. Situated on 2.5 acres near DFW International Airport, the facility comprises 8,500 square feet of warehouse space and 1,500 square feet of office space. Pete and Drew Richardson of Henry S. Miller Brokerage represented the seller, Blue Ribbon Delivery. The buyer, Houston-based Gajeske Inc., was represented by Chuck Precopia of ART Properties. The buyer plans to utilize the space as a storage and distribution facility, as well as for training. The acquisition price was not disclosed.