AUSTIN, TEXAS — Franklin BSP Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: FBRT) has provided an $80 million loan for the refinancing of Alexan Waterloo, a 272-unit apartment complex in downtown Austin. Completed in 2021, the 30-story building houses studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Amenities include a pool with cabanas and grilling stations; fitness center with yoga and spin studios; sports lounge with a golf simulator; coworking space with private meeting rooms; and multiple clubrooms with lounge seating and a catering kitchen. The borrower is Crow Holdings Capital. The loan was structured with a two-year initial term and three one-year extension options.
SELMA, TEXAS — Atlanta-based developer Ackerman & Co. is underway on construction of Corporate Drive Industrial Complex, a 511,000-square-foot industrial project in Selma, a northeastern suburb of San Antonio. The development will consist of a 274,000-square-foot facility and 237,000-square-foot structure on a 32-acre site. The rear-load buildings will feature 32- to 36-foot clear heights and combined parking for 647 cars and 59 trailers. Ackerman is developing the project in partnership with Baltisse US Inc. and is targeting a first-quarter 2024 delivery. Partners Real Estate has been tapped as the leasing agent.
ROCKWALL, TEXAS — Mumford Co., a hospitality brokerage firm with regional offices around the country, has arranged the sale of the 98-room Tru by Hilton Rockwall Dallas hotel, located on the city’s eastern outskirts. The property was built in 2020 and features a fitness center, business center and an outdoor pool with patio seating. The name of the seller and the Alabama-based developer that purchased the property were not disclosed.
DALLAS — Bolour Associates, an investment firm based in Southern California, has sold a 7,190-square-foot medical office building located at 12222 Coit Road in North Dallas. David Zoller and Corbin Tanenbaum of Weitzman represented Bolour in the transaction as well as in its original acquisition of the property in 2022. Justin Utay of NAI Robert Lynn represented the undisclosed buyer.
HOUSTON — Vard Marine Inc., a provider of naval architecture and marine engineering services, has signed a 6,694-square-foot office lease at 1311 Broadfield Blvd. in Houston’s Energy Corridor area. According to LoopNet Inc., the building was constructed in 2000 and totals 155,407 square feet. D.J. Hale of Oxford Partners represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Jack Russo of JLL represented the landlord.
By Herb Weitzman, executive chairman, Weitzman The major Texas metro areas of Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio all share one thing in common: Their retail markets are posting balances of supply and demand that outpace every other major commercial real estate category. This milestone was not achieved without overcoming significant obstacles. The major Texas retail markets have survived decades of back-to-back challenges, including major market disruptors like e-commerce, the 2008 Financial Crisis that knocked out several major chains and 2020’s pandemic-induced shutdowns. Each of these significant disruptions and challenges first resulted in store closings and higher vacancy rates. But retail operators as well as commercial brokers and landlords all learned from the setbacks by embracing the lessons of these disruptions to understand how to creatively bounce back stronger. As a result of the market’s careful pivoting, the retail markets in Texas’ major metros have right-sized and are reporting a yearslong trend of balance in supply and demand. To illustrate this point, we used the mid-year reports from CoStar Group on the non-retail CRE types. We compared retail vacancy rates in the four Texas markets to CoStar’s mid-year rates for the industrial, office and multifamily spaces in each of …
NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS — Developer CLX Ventures is underway on construction of New Braunfels Commerce Center, a 651,010-square-foot speculative industrial project that will be located on the northeastern outskirts of San Antonio. Designed by Powers Brown Architecture, New Braunfels Commerce Center will consist of four buildings ranging in size from 129,632 to 204,874 square feet on a 46.7-acre site. All four buildings will feature 32-foot clear heights and rear-load configurations. Stream Realty Partners is the leasing agent. Delivery is slated for spring 2024.
CELINA, TEXAS — Mill Creek Residential has completed construction of Amavi Celina, a 271-unit build-to-rent residential community located about 40 miles north of downtown Dallas. The 45-acre site houses cottage- and townhome-style residences as well as single-family detached homes. Residences come in one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom layouts. Amenities include a clubhouse with a fitness center, pool, dog park, playground, green space and onsite walking trails. Preleasing is underway, and the first move-ins are scheduled for later this month.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Dallas-based Gatehouse Capital has topped out a 132-room boutique hotel that is part of Phase I of OAK, a 20-acre mixed-used project in Oklahoma City. The first phase also includes 135,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 320 apartments and a 7,000-square-foot central green space. Phase II will feature 100,000 square feet of office space and an additional 85,000 square feet of retail space. Full completion is slated for next September. Veritas Development is the master developer of OAK.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Locally based brokerage firm Muskin | Elam Group has arranged the sale of Cielo at Burnet, a 48-unit apartment complex in North Austin. Daniel Elam and Lyles Carter of Muskin | Elam Group represented the undisclosed, Georgia-based seller in the transaction. The buyer, which also requested anonymity, plans to implement a value-add program and rebrand the property as Colony Creek Apartments. Cameron Hart and John Romano of Berkadia originated acquisition financing for the deal.