By Kent Elliott, principal, and Chase Fryhover, director, RETS Associates While December’s national jobs report painted an optimistic picture of the employment landscape, some sources have noted that workers in commercial real estate are leaving the industry. Yet although some national brokerage firms may be trimming the fat to cut costs in light of recent economic uncertainty, this trend does not seem to apply to Texas-based commercial real estate companies. In fact, according to Estateserve, with the Texas office market booming, vacancy rates dropping and rents rising, “Texas’ commercial real estate is experiencing a resurgence.” As a national executive search firm that has served the industry for more than two decades, RETS Associates has a seasoned perspective on job markets throughout the country. Here are the trends we are noticing throughout the industry in Texas and why we believe the market is poised for ongoing strength and stability. Continued In-Migration Texas is the ninth-largest economy in the world, as well as one of the leading markets in the country in job and economic growth. The Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area in particular, the fourth-largest MSA in the country, led the country in population growth in March 2022 and in post-pandemic job …
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HOUSTON — Berkadia has arranged the sale of Metro Greenway, a 309-unit apartment community in Houston’s Greenway/Upper Kirby neighborhood. Developed in 2008 by The Dinerstein Cos., Metro Greenway is a four-story building that sits on a two-level parking garage. Units come in one- and two-bedroom floor plans and range in size from 709 to 1,272 square feet. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, outdoor kitchen, pet park, coffee bar and a resident lounge. Todd Marix, Chris Curry, Jeffrey Skipworth, Chris Young, Joey Rippel and Kyle Whitney of Berkadia represented the seller, Denver-based Simpson Housing, in the transaction. Dallas-based investment firm Westdale acquired the asset for an undisclosed price.
HOUSTON — Fairstead, an investment firm with three offices along the East Coast, will undertake a $25 million renovation of Coppertree Village Apartments, a 324-unit affordable housing complex in Houston. Matt Napoleon and Joseph Mandeville of Berkadia arranged construction financing for the project, and R4 Capital provided tax credit equity. Renovations will include new kitchens, bathrooms, windows and flooring to all units, as well as upgrades to the HVAC systems, roofing, siding and staircases of the buildings themselves. Lastly, the project team will add a new playground and community garden and redevelop the existing amenity building to support a computer lab, demonstration kitchen and a library.
FRISCO, TEXAS — Caddis, a Dallas-based developer exclusively focused on healthcare real estate, has broken ground on a 60,000-square-foot project in Frisco. Frisco Medical Pavilion II will be located at 12850 Dallas Parkway, just north of Texas Health Frisco, a full-service hospital that opened in 2019. Dallas-based Grace Hebert Curtis Architects is designing the project, and Novel Builders is serving as the general contractor. Transwestern is the leasing agent. Completion is slated for early 2024.
HOUSTON — An affiliate of locally based development and investment firm Adkisson Group has acquired a 19,800-square-foot office building in northwest Houston. According to LoopNet Inc., the property at 4809 Westway Park Blvd was built in 2005 and rises two stories. Travis Land of Partners Real Estate represented the buyer, which also plans to occupy the building, in the transaction. Jude Filippone of Traswestern represented the undisclosed seller.
KATY, TEXAS — Locally based investment firm The Vista Cos. has sold Vista Grand Reserve, a 12,000-square-foot medical office building in the western Houston suburb of Katy. According to LoopNet Inc., the building at 23543 Kingsland Blvd. was constructed in 2017. James Bell of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller in the transaction. Coldwell Banker Commercial/Lewis Realty Group represented the buyer, Santos Family Enterprises Ltd.
BRYAN, TEXAS — Aphorio Carter, a division of Tampa-based investment firm Carter Funds, has acquired a data center and office complex located in the Central Texas city of Bryan for $55 million. The complex consists of two data center buildings and one office building totaling 69,788 square feet. At the time of sale, the facility was fully leased to colocation services provider Fibertown, which recently entered into a 20-year net lease at the property. The seller was not disclosed.
LOCKHART, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Alliance Self Storage, a 532-unit facility located in the Central Texas city of Lockhart. The facility was built on five acres in 2002 and totals 70,750 net rentable square feet. Jon Danklefs of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer and seller, both of which were limited liability companies that requested anonymity, in the transaction.
FRISCO, TEXAS — Locally based developer Stillwater Capital has broken ground on a 215-unit build-to-rent residential project in Frisco. The site is located within The Link, a 240-acre mixed-use development that is adjacent to the PGA of America’s headquarters campus. Information on floor plans was not disclosed. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center, resident lounge and a neighborhood park and walking trails. Stillwater Capital has partnered with Robert Elliott Custom Homes on the project, which is slated for full completion in late 2024.
LOCKHART, TEXAS — Factory Building Stores, a distributor of home appliances, has signed a 167,794-square-foot, full-building industrial lease at Lockhart 130 Industrial Park in Central Texas. The rear-load building, which is slated for a fourth-quarter completion, will feature 32-foot clear heights and 37 dock doors. Omar Nasser of AQUILA Commercial represented the landlord, Titan Development, in the lease negotiations. Davis Bass and Geoff Hangartner of HPI Real Estate Services & Investments represented the tenant. Lockhart 130 Industrial Park will ultimately comprise four buildings on a 45.1-acre site.