ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Newmark has brokered the sale of AmeriCredit Center I, a 246,060-square-foot office building in Arlington that is fully leased to automotive finance firm AmeriCredit. According to LoopNet Inc., the three-story property was built on 25.4 acres in 1998. Gary Carr, Ken Hedrick, Jerry Hopkins and Andrew Ragsdale of Newmark represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer was CFT Developments LLC.
EL PASO, TEXAS — CBRE has negotiated a 38,400-square-foot industrial lease at 9660 Joe Rodriguez Drive in El Paso. Arturo De la Mora and Andres Sandoval of CBRE represented the tenant, cross-border customers and logistics firm G-Global, in the lease negotiations. The duo also represented the landlord, a partnership between Boston-based Equity Industrial Partners and New York-based Raith Capital Partners. G-Global previously occupied 20,000 square feet at the building at 9600 Joe Rodriguez Drive, which the partnership also owns.
AcquisitionsFloridaGeorgiaIllinoisIndianaLouisianaMichiganMidwestMultifamilyNorth CarolinaOhioSouth CarolinaSoutheastTexasTop Stories
Morgan Properties, Olayan America Acquire 14,414-Unit Apartment Portfolio Across Midwest, Southeast for $1.7B
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA. — Morgan Properties and Olayan America have acquired a portfolio of 48 apartment communities totaling 14,414 units in 11 states for $1.7 billion. STAR Real Estate Ventures, a joint venture between El-Ad National Properties LLC and Yellowstone Portfolio Trust, was the seller. The portfolio, named the North Star Portfolio, consists of Class B assets in Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Maryland. On average, the communities total 300 units each and date to 1985. “While most of our competitors remain defensive and on the sidelines, Morgan Properties continues to play offense. North Star was right in our wheelhouse given the barriers to entry and we pounced on the opportunity to secure it,” says Jonathan Morgan, president of Morgan Properties. “The North Star investment speaks to the strength of our partnership with Morgan Properties and our continued confidence in the multifamily sector,” says Erik Horvat, managing director and head of real estate at Olayan America. The buyers plan to invest an additional $100 million for enhancements and amenity upgrades at the properties. With the North Star acquisition, Morgan and Olayan entered five new states, including Florida, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana and …
ROUND ROCK, TEXAS — A partnership between Houston-based Stanmore Partners and Transwestern Investment Group (TIG) will develop Stanmore Warner Ranch, a 336-unit multifamily project in the northern Austin suburb of Round Rock. The property will consist of seven garden-style buildings that will house units with custom cabinetry, stainless steel appliances and individual washers and dryers. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center, business center, dog park and a resident lounge. The first units are slated to be delivered in the second quarter of 2022.
SAN ANTONIO — Newmark has brokered the sale of The Heritage, a 305-unit apartment community in San Antonio. Built in 2005, The Heritage features one-, two- and three-bedroom units and amenities such as a pool, fitness center, dog park and an indoor basketball court. Patton Jones and Matt Michelson of Newmark represented the seller, Austin-based CFH Investment Partners, in the transaction. Terrain Capital Partners, also based in Austin, purchased the asset for an undisclosed price. The Heritage was 93 percent occupied at the time of sale.
IRVING, TEXAS — Locally based developer T2V Properties plans to build an 88,100-square-foot office project at 1410 N. Westridge Circle in Irving’s Las Colinas district. The project represents Phase II of Westridge Park, a speculative boutique office development. Phase I consisted of a 34,188-square-foot building that was completed in December 2019. Modus Design Studio is the architect for Phase II, and Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services has been tapped to lease the development. A general contractor for Phase II has not yet been selected.
HOUSTON — Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. (MMCC) has arranged two green loans totaling $21.4 million for the refinancing of two multifamily assets in the Houston area totaling 340 units. Brandon Brown of MMCC arranged the loans, both of which featured a 3.16 percent fixed interest rate and nine years of interest-only payments. The lenders, borrowers and property names were not disclosed.
ADDISON, TEXAS — ATW Corp., a locally based provider of trailer parts and accessories, has signed a 26,127-square-foot office headquarters lease at Greenhill Towers in the northern Dallas suburb of Addison. The company will be relocating from Richardson. Dan Zeltser of SHOP Cos. represented the tenant in its site selection and lease negotiations. Grant Sumner and Russell Podraza of Avison Young represented the building ownership, Florida-based Codina Partners, which recently implemented an $8 million capital improvement program at Greenhill Towers.
The pandemic has forced the appraisal business into a surreal experience: many valuation professionals had their physical connections to the market severed or diminished. The question became: how best to assign value to the properties that appraisers are tasked with assessing especially while the demand for valuation has grown. Where does the rise of automatic valuation systems (AVSs) fit in with the valuation process? Karl Finkelstein, vice president of Business Development and senior managing director for Valbridge Property Advisors, spoke recently to REBusinessOnline. He explains, “The appraisal business is still all about reporting on what we see in the marketplace. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is our physical connection to the market — talking with market participants and attempting to read the tea leaves.” As for many companies, the past few months have been a time of reassessment and reengagement with the technology and tools at hand. “We’ve had to rethink how we do inspections; we’ve had to rethink how we physically interact. Technology has given us a big hand with that, and it has changed some of the some of the ways we do business and enhanced others,” says Finkelstein. A Hands-On Business, Socially Distanced Physical inspections remain …
By Mark Wolf, CEO and founder, AHV Communities The single-family rental (SFR) sector began its institutionalization during the Global Financial Crisis when so many homeowners found themselves unable to pay their mortgages. The mass quantity of repossessed homes was sold off on courthouse steps or at large in-person or online auctions, with mega-landlords amassing the homes and renting them out as investments. At the time, that business model was the only one widely recognized or, notably, well capitalized. However, the sector would not ultimately remain a one-trick pony. Alternate visions for single-family rentals have subsequently emerged. The most widely known model, which is oftentimes incorrectly characterized today, is the purpose-built rental community. Built from the ground up and delivered as a contiguous, cohesive communities — basically the opposite of existing randomly located distressed homes purchased and leased — the purpose-built SFR community is on the rise. Texas is currently one of the hottest states for new development of these communities. The activity is undoubtedly fueled by the ongoing in-migration of individuals and families from other states flooding into the Lone Star State in favor of lower taxes, high quality of life, friendly business climate and an overall affordable cost of …