LAKE JACKSON, TEXAS — Fairstead, a residential investment firm with three offices along the East Coast, has acquired Lake Jackson Apartments, a 160-unit mixed-income community located on the southern outskirts of Houston. The property consists of 11 residential buildings and one communal building on a 14-acre site. The property’s affordable units are reserved for renters earning 60 percent or less of the area median income (AMI). Amenities include a pool, fitness center, dog park, playground, volleyball court and storage units. Fairstead plans to invest about $14 million in capital improvements and preserve affordability by converting a portion of the market-rate units into affordable housing for families earning 80 percent or less of AMI. The seller was not disclosed.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Lee & Associates has negotiated a 156,205-square-foot industrial sublease at 401 Railhead Road in Fort Worth. According to LoopNet Inc., the property was built in 2001 and totals 305,225 square feet. Reid Bassinger and Trey Fricke of Lee & Associates represented the sublessor, Davoil Inc., in the lease negotiations. Tim Vogds of CBRE represented the sublessee, Dallas-based home goods retailer Tuesday Morning Inc.
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2021 Multifamily Housing Market Outlook Shaped by Growth Trends, Housing Prices
COVID Disrupts Markets Again The country began breathing a sigh of relief in the second quarter of 2021 as U.S. GDP returned to pre-pandemic levels. With a substantial part of the U.S. population vaccinated, the unemployment rate plummeted, schools began preparing for in-person instruction and restaurants were back in business, again surpassing grocery sales in volume. But just as things seemed to be returning to “normal,” the delta variant of COVID began to spread. New COVID cases turned into rising COVID deaths by August,[1] disrupting supply and demand chains. Consumer confidence, which had been rising since hitting a low in April 2020, dipped to a new low point in August; consumer spending stalled[2], and fewer people traveled by plane[3] or returned to the office[4] that month. While economic growth remains positive, the delta variant, now accounting for almost all new COVID cases[5], again introduced market uncertainty, resulting in a 4 percent drop in stock market pricing in September. However, as COVID cases began declining in mid-September, stock prices began to rise, erasing the September drop in October, and resulting in a 22.6 percent gain for the year. Overall, economists maintain strong economic growth expectations of 6.1 percent GDP growth for …
CEDAR PARK, TEXAS — The Cedar Park City Council has approved an agreement with CPM Development for a 117-acre mixed-use project that is expected to generate more than $435 million in tax revenue for the northern Austin suburb over the next 25 years. The approval of the development agreement on Dec. 9 marks the first step into making the project, which will be anchored by Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM), a reality. Preliminary plans include a 250-room hotel with a 30,000-square-foot convention center that would be owned by the city; a 500,000-square-foot NFM store and showroom; a 700,000-square-foot warehouse to support NFM’s retail operations; and 250,000 square feet of additional commercial space. The terms of the agreement also call for CPM Development to invest a minimum of $400 million to build the NFM-anchored development, which then must generate a minimum of $450 million annually in sales. The project also must generate a minimum of 725 jobs within the first year of opening. In return, the city will issue a maximum of approximately $45 million total in performance-based tax rebates to CPM Development. Rebated funds will be used in part to reimburse the developer for costs associated with required on- and offsite …
ROSENBERG, TEXAS — Locally based developer Satya will build a mixed-use project on a 37-acre site within a Qualified Opportunity Zone in Rosenberg, a southwestern suburb of Houston. The project will consist of Fairgrounds Apartments, a 312-unit multifamily community complex situated on a 15-acre site, as well as retail and restaurant space on an adjoining 17-acre parcel. Tenants such as Arby’s, Starbucks, Whataburger, AutoZone and Harbor Freight have already committed to the latter portion of the project. Residential units will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans ranging in size from 670 to 1,500 square feet. Amenities will include a pool, playground, dog park, fitness center, golf simulator, beer garden and an Amazon package locker system. Garcia & Associates is the project architect. Construction is set to begin next summer and to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2023.
HUTTO, TEXAS — Joeris General Contractors, in partnership with the Hutto Independent School District, has completed the renovation of Hutto Memorial Stadium, a 10,000-seat venue located north of Austin. The total project cost was approximately $18 million. Upgrades include a new visitors’ field house, new home and visitors’ concessions and restroom facilities, an enhanced LED video display board, multi-level press box and film deck and additional site improvements to support these facilities. VLK Architects designed the project.
NEW YORK CITY — New York City-based Ready Capital has closed a loan of an undisclosed amount for the acquisition, renovation and stabilization of a portfolio of five multifamily properties located throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Ready Capital closed the nonrecourse, interest-only loan, which carried a floating interest rate, 36-month term and two extension options, on behalf of the borrower, Dallas-based WindMass Capital. The names of the properties were not disclosed.
SUGAR LAND, TEXAS — Department of Wonder, an entertainment concept that combines interactive theater with puzzle-solving and immersive technology, will open a 10,000-square-foot venue at Sugar Land Town Square on the southwestern outskirts of Houston. The opening of the flagship venue is slated for early 2022. Department of Wonder was created by a team of storytellers, technologists, designers and producers with decades of collective experience producing novel forms of digital and interactive entertainment.
By Zack Taylor, senior vice president, Colliers Houston’s industrial market continued to see strong leasing activity in the third quarter. Overall net absorption for 2021 should easily pass 20 million square feet, making it the best year on record by a long shot. For context, Houston’s industrial market has, on average, absorbed between 8 million and 11 million square feet of space per year since 2014. Houston’s North and Southwest submarkets absorbed the most space in the third quarter of this year, led by Lowe’s Home Improvement taking down 1.5 million square feet and Amazon taking 1.9 million square feet in each of those respective submarkets. Total marketwide leasing volume for the year is well over 30 million square feet and does not show any signs of stopping as we hit the midpoint of the fourth quarter. Direct vacancy is continuing its downward trend, but rental rates have largely remained the same on new product. Second-generation infill warehouses are experiencing the greatest increase in rents, especially for tenants with requirements between 20,000 and 50,000 square feet. Many of these tenants are faced with a dilemma: They can either accept higher rents for their infill locations or relocate to more expensive …
FORNEY, TEXAS — A partnership between Atlanta-based Seefried Industrial Properties and San Antonio-based USAA Real Estate will develop East Gate Logistics Center, an approximately 1.3 million-square-foot industrial project that will be located in the eastern Dallas suburb of Forney. Building features will include 40-foot clear heights, abundant car and trailer parking and an ESFR sprinkler system. Construction is slated to begin in the first quarter of next year and to be complete in mid-2023. The new facility will be the largest of its kind in the history of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, according to the development team. KBC Advisors is marketing the property for lease.