TERRELL, TEXAS — An affiliate of DPG Investments LLC, a family office, merchant banking and private capital advisory firm, has arranged $56.2 million in financing for a 1,036-unit manufactured housing project in Terrell, about 35 miles east of Dallas. The financing includes senior debt, mezzanine debt and preferred equity that will be used to both acquire and develop the property, which will be known as Post Oak. The borrower, is an affiliate of K8H Ventures, a metro Houston-based owner-operator of manufactured housing. Additional project details were not disclosed.
SAN ANTONIO — Rainier Cos., a Dallas-based investment firm, has sold San Antonio Crossing, a 145,819-square-foot shopping center located on the city’s northwest side. Rainier Cos. purchased the center, which is located at the corner of Bandero Road and Loop 1604, in 2019. Texas-based grocer H-E-B anchors the center, and other tenants include Academy Sports + Outdoors, Burlington, Half Price Books, Starbucks Coffee and ModPizza. Philip Levy and Chris Gainey of Marcus & Millichap brokered the deal. The buyer and sales price were not disclosed.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Equitable Commercial Realty (ECR) has negotiated a 20,122-square-foot office lease in southeast Austin. The tenant, locally based technology infrastructure provider Fathom5, will occupy space at Bergstrom Tech Center, a 208,374-square-foot facility that was originally constructed in 1986 for defense contractor Lockheed Martin. ECR represented the landlord, Boyd Watterson Asset Management, in the lease negotiations. Colliers represented the tenant.
By Lee Winston, partner at Gray, Winston & Hart PLLC No income tax in Texas. The Texas Constitution prohibits it, so local funding depends primarily on property taxes. But to many Texas businesses, this “necessary evil” has become just plain evil. Over the last several years, property taxes in Texas have exploded. State politicians have taken notice and are ramping up demands to reduce or eliminate property taxes, but the alternatives are more than unpopular. For instance, nobody wants to pay — and no politician wants to stand for election on — instituting a near 20 percent sales tax. And everyone knows this. To avoid this reality, lawmakers have pivoted to find a villain, and the appraisal districts that place the taxable value on property are a ready target. The popular solutions to rein in this villain are appraisal caps, increased exemptions and value limitations, all of which offer relief to residential property owners but do little for commercial owners. And these “fixes” result in a system that is neither equal nor uniform, undermining the constitutional foundation of taxation in Texas. Our elected officials have yet to address the fundamental issue driving the over-valuation of most commercial properties, which is …
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, has brokered the sale of Monterra Village, a 550-unit apartment community in North Fort Worth. The property was built in phases between 2008 and 2013 on a 35-acre site within the 900-acre Alliance Town Center master-planned development. Units come in one-, two- and three-bedroom formats and have an average size of 985 square feet. Amenities include a pool, outdoor grilling and dining stations, business center and a pet park. Drew Kile, Taylor Hill, Joey Tumminello, Michael Ware, Cameron Purse and William Hubbard of IPA represented the seller, Hillwood Multifamily, in the transaction and procured the buyer, Weidner Apartment Homes.
HALTOM CITY, TEXAS — Creation, a developer with offices in Dallas and Phoenix, has broken ground on Triad 820, a three-building, 137,000-square-foot industrial project in Haltom City, a northern suburb of Fort Worth The 9-acre site is located along Anderson Road, and the buildings will feature 28-foot clear heights, 125-foot truck court depths, electrical vehicle charging stations and a secured yard. LGE Design Build is handling the architectural and general contracting aspects of the project, with construction scheduled for a fourth-quarter completion. NAI Robert Lynn has been tapped as the leasing agent.
UNIVERSAL CITY, TEXAS — Capital advisory firm David B. Norton Inc. has arranged $35.4 million in construction financing for a 268-unit multifamily project in Universal City, a northeastern suburb of San Antonio. The development will consist of 10 buildings on a 14-acre site. The financing, which represents about 77 percent of the total project capitalization, includes both debt from an undisclosed regional bank and preferred equity from an undisclosed institutional investor. The name of the developer was also not released.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Equitable Commercial Realty (ECR) has negotiated a 30,884-square-foot office lease in southeast Austin. The tenant, Prometheus Security Group Global, will occupy space at Bergstrom Tech Center, a 208,374-square-foot facility that was originally constructed in 1986 for defense contractor Lockheed Martin. ECR represented the landlord, Boyd Watterson Asset Management, in the lease negotiations. Endeavor Real Estate Group represented the tenant.
BUDA, TEXAS — Coated Metals Group has signed a 27,075-square-foot industrial lease in Buda, a southern suburb of Austin. The manufacturer of prefinished steel products is taking space at Building 7 of Buda Midway, a development whose second phase comprises four buildings totaling 382,000 square feet. Phase II buildings feature 30- to 32-foot clear heights and speculative office space. Leigh Ellis, Blake Patterson and Omar Nasser of AQUILA Commercial represented the landlord, United Properties, in the lease negotiations.
HOUSTON — Global investment firm Stonepeak, which is headquartered in New York City, has acquired a portfolio of six industrial properties totaling 2.3 million square feet in Houston. The properties, the names and addresses of which were not disclosed, serve tenants in the logistics sector and are all located within eight miles of Port Houston. JLL acted as Stonepeak’s financial advisor in the transaction. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.