HOUSTON, PEARLAND AND CONROE, TEXAS — Berkadia has provided a Fannie Mae loan of an undisclosed amount for the refinancing of three multifamily properties totaling 901 units in the Houston area. Parkland at West Oaks totals 323 units and is located on the city’s west side. Radius at Shadow Creek comprises 350 units and is located in the southern suburb of Pearland, and West Creek consists of 228 units and is located in the northern suburb of Conroe. The properties are part of Wisconsin-based MLG Capital’s Southstar Sun Belt Multifamily Portfolio, which also includes a 214-unit community in Lake Worth, Florida. John Koeijmans and Austin Blankenship of Berkadia originated the financing.
Texas
PALESTINE, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Security Storage of Palestine, a two-property, 839-unit portfolio located about 120 miles southeast of Dallas. The main facility was built in phases between 1980 and 2014 and spans 97,370 net rentable square feet of space across 30 climate-controlled units and 631 non-climate-controlled units, as well as 12 outdoor parking spaces. The second facility comprises 156 non-climate-controlled units totaling 20,000 net rentable square feet. Dave Knobler of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, an unnamed private investor, in the transaction and procured the buyer, a Dallas-based 1031 exchange investor.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Sarasota, Fla.-based Floridays Development will build a 276-room hotel in East Austin. Designed by FK Architecture, the project will include a pool and an 89,123-square-foot parking garage. Other project partners include landscape architect Blacksmith Collaborative, civil engineer WPI Inc. and structural engineer SCA Consulting. A tentative construction completion date was not released, but demolition work on the site’s existing structures is underway. The hotel operator was also not disclosed.
KATY, TEXAS — Los Angeles-based BH Properties has purchased Mason Creek II, a 127,955-square-foot vacant office building in the western Houston suburb of Katy. Jeff Hollinden of JLL represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The three-story building was developed in 2015 as the second piece of a speculative project. The first building of that development, a 136,000-square-foot structure, is fully leased to GEICO Insurance. BH Properties has tapped Moody Rambin to lease Mason Creek II.
HOUSTON — Locally based investment management firm LandPark Advisors has acquired Easy Self Storage, a 234-unit facility located in northwest Houston. Originally built in 1984 and expanded in 2021, the facility consists of 43,025 net rentable square feet of space across 62 climate-controlled units and 172 non-climate-controlled units. LandPark Advisors plans to implement a capital improvement program and rebrand the property under the flag of its management company, Right Move Storage. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
The multifamily investment sales sector had well-documented success in 2021 with a record volume of over $220 billion in transaction activity. Factors driving competition for transactions within the sector included: increasing home prices, widespread interest in renting and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions bringing renters back into the nation’s cities, all of which drove the average, nationwide multifamily occupancy rate above 97 percent. With firmly rooted fundamentals, investor interest across the spectrum of multifamily has been intense. Traditionally popular core investment products (stabilized and value-add assets located in primary and secondary markets) were the clear winners with investors. Some multifamily REIT stocks increased by 75 to 100 percent in 2021, explains Arthur Milston, senior managing director with NAI Global and co-head of the company’s Capital Markets Group. Milston sat down with REBusinessOnline to explain where NAI Global sees growth and opportunities in 2022. REBusiness: Who are the primary investor groups acquiring multifamily? What types/locations are they attracted to? Milston: Historically, multifamily has always had very fragmented ownership compared to other asset classes. Currently, the dominant players are the large aggregators of product, whether it be REITs or institutional investors that are buying, typically in conjunction with an operating partner. Pension …
By Philip Levy, senior managing director, investments, Marcus & Millichap The Dallas retail climate is more favorable entering 2022 than it has been for most of the COVID-19 crisis. Overall, the marketwide retail vacancy rate fell 50 basis points during the first three quarters of 2021, ending at an even 6 percent in September. Nevertheless, that rate is about 100 basis points above the pre-pandemic level. A strong rebound in tenant demand is helping lower vacancy, however, with net absorption across the opening nine months of 2021 totaling more than 2.2 million square feet, compared with a net loss of 1.5 million square feet in 2020. Additionally, the construction pipeline has shrunk considerably, helping mitigate supply-side pressure as the market bounces back. As of the fourth quarter of 2021, less than 1 million square feet of new retail product with an expected completion date in 2022 was under construction in the greater Dallas area. This is a sharp contrast to the 2 million-plus square feet that developers delivered in each year between 2014 and 2020. Strengthening demand drivers amid a reduction in development suggest that downward pressure on vacancy will continue in the coming quarters. New Households Spend Near-term uncertainty …
PEARLAND, TEXAS — Locally based investment and development firm Fidelis Realty Partners has purchased Shadow Creek Ranch, a 613,468-square-foot retail power center located in the southern Houston suburb of Pearland. Built in 2008 and anchored by grocer H-E-B, Shadow Creek Ranch was roughly 98 percent leased at the time of sale. Other retailers include Academy Sports + Outdoors, Ashley HomeStore, Burlington, Dynamic Fitness, Hobby Lobby, Men’s Wearhouse and Pure Barre. Restaurant users include Salata, Taco Cabana, Longhorn Steakhouse and Subway. Ryan West, Chris Gerard, Barry Brown, Wendy Vandeventer and Katherine Miller of JLL represented the seller, Edens, in the transaction. Fidelis also tapped JLL to arrange post-acquisition financing for the property.
ALLEN, TEXAS — JLL has negotiated the sale of a 144,128-square-foot industrial facility in the northeastern Dallas suburb of Allen that is fully leased to KONE, a provider of elevator and escalator systems. The complex was constructed in 2016 and consists of a 121,852-square-foot building with 28-foot clear heights and a seven-story, 22,276-square-foot elevator testing tower with office space. Stephen Bailey, Dustin Volz, Dom Espinosa, Wesley Gilmer and Beth Copeland of JLL represented the seller, Houston-based Sentinel Capital, in the transaction. Tradition Senior Living LP purchased the property for an undisclosed price via a 1031 exchange as part of an effort to increase its exposure to other asset classes.
PLANO, TEXAS — Ohio-based developer MVAH Partners LLC is underway on construction of K Avenue Lofts, a 226-unit mixed-income housing project in the northern Dallas suburb of Plano. Within the five-story building, 79 percent of the units will be reserved for households earning 60 percent or less of the area median income (AMI). The remaining residences will be rented at market rates. Amenities will include a leasing office/clubhouse, crafts room, fitness center, business center, media room, pet park, playground and a pool. Completion is slated for summer 2023. David Lacki and Alton Tinker of KeyBank originated a $39.6 million construction loan for the project. The Plano Housing Authority issued $19 million in bonds that were sold by KeyBanc Capital Markets, and $19 million of KeyBank’s construction loan will serve as collateral for the bondholders. In addition, The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs awarded Low Income Housing Tax Credits for the deal.