AMARILLO, TEXAS — New York City-based Dwight Capital has provided a $58.6 million HUD-insured loan for Residences at Town Square, a 32-acre mixed-use property in Amarillo that consists of 480 residential units and 121,360 square feet of commercial space. The residential component comprises four five-story apartment buildings, and the commercial space houses a dental office, nail bar, spa, retail merchandising and restaurant users. Daniel Malka of Dwight Capital originated the debt through HUD’s 223(f) program on behalf of the borrower, Williams Group. Daniel Hartnett of Greysteel served as the loan correspondent.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Dallas-based investment firm S2 Capital has acquired Vineyard Hills, a 202-unit multifamily property in southwest Austin. The site spans 11 acres, and the property features one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Amenities include a pool, spa, dog park and outdoor grilling and dining stations. Ryan McBride, Robert Arzola, Robert Wooten, Alex Fernandes and Nick Beardslee of JLL represented the seller, Bob Reeves, in the transaction. Mark Brandenburg, also with JLL, arranged an undisclosed amount of acquisition financing for the deal through Benefit Street Partners. S2 Capital acquired the property in conjunction with Belle Rive Club Apartments, a 104-unit complex in Jacksonville, Fla.
SPRING, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 5,677-square-foot retail building in the northern Houston suburb of Spring. The building is located along the I-45 corridor and is leased to breakfast eatery IHOP, which has 15 years remaining on its lease. John Paine of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, metro Atlanta-based investment firm Greenleaf Property Management, in the transaction. Paine also procured the buyer, a California-based 1031 exchange investor.
By Taylor Williams Industry professionals who hail from and work in San Antonio often describe the city’s economy and real estate scene as steady and healthy in a sort of unspectacular way. Rarely does any commercial sector in San Antonio achieve the high highs and low lows of gateway coastal markets. Further, the market’s quiet consistency has come to stand out as its neighbor up the road, Austin, has exploded as a tech hub in the past decade, bringing with it fervent building booms that still can’t put a dent in the skyrocketing cost of living. Yet this same quality that in years past caused major retailers and restaurants — and investors — to pass on San Antonio is now a primary force that attracts them to the Alamo City, at least according to some local industry experts. Some of these individuals elaborated on the trend at the inaugural InterFace San Antonio retail conference, which took place on April 4 at the Hilton Palacio Del Rio hotel. Bethany Babcock, principal and co-owner of full-service firm Foresite Commercial Real Estate, was the first industry expert who addressed the market’s evolution in the post-COVID era. “We noticed at the last couple trade …
CULVER CITY, CALIF. AND AUSTIN, TEXAS — Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired theater chain Alamo Drafthouse Cinema from Altamont Capital Partners, Fortress Investment Group and founder Tim League for an undisclosed price. Alamo Drafthouse was founded in 1997 in Austin, and has grown from a single mom-and-pop location to 35 cinemas across 25 metropolitan areas. The company is the seventh-largest theater chain in North America and was one of the pioneers of the in-theater elevated food and drink concept. Alamo Drafthouse will maintain its headquarters in Austin and will continue to operate all of its locations, as well as the company’s Fantastic Fest film festival, which was included in the acquisition. Sony will manage these entities under a newly established division, Sony Pictures Experiences, led by Alamo Drafthouse CEO Michael Kustermann. The acquisition is groundbreaking, as it was recently made possible through the Department of Justice’s decision in 2020 to rescind the Paramount Decrees. Put into place by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948, the Decrees mandated a separation between film distribution and exhibition, requiring major motion picture studios to divest of any theater holdings. “We are excited to make history with Sony Pictures Entertainment and have found the right home …
Last fall’s ebullience over the Federal Reserve’s likelihood of cutting the federal funds rate early and frequently in 2024 quickly faded as inflation remained too high for the Fed’s liking. Wall Street traders who make wagers on the Fed’s actions keep pushing their rate cut bets further into the year, according to CME Group, a derivatives marketplace. In early March, for example, nearly 75 percent of traders wagered on a rate cut in June. As of early June, less than 2 percent expected one. The most recent Fed meeting, on June 13, has confirmed this assumption that a rate cut is at least months away, if not longer. If and when the central bank cuts rates this year, the cost of capital is unlikely to approach the historically low levels of the last few years. As a result, the growing interest rate mantra of “higher for longer” may be finally convincing commercial property buyers and sellers to meet on pricing. New York-based research organization MSCI Real Assets recently noted that commercial property sales continued to slow in the first quarter of 2024 — a year-over-year decline of 16 percent to $78.9 billion. But it suggested that investors might be encouraged …
DALLAS — Newmark has arranged the sale of PROTO Park, a 257,192-square-foot industrial property located in Dallas. PROTO Park is a redevelopment of a 1960s-era brick warehouse that sits on a nine-acre site in the city’s Brookhollow area and features 24-foot clear heights. Dustin Volz, Stephen Bailey, Dom Espinosa and Zach Riebe of Newmark represented the seller, North Texas-based M2G Ventures, which developed the project in partnership with Pennybacker Capital, in the transaction. The buyer was California-based investment firm Bendetti. At the time of sale, PROTO Park was fully leased to tenants such as Dynasty Spirits, Taxila Stone, Preziosa Stone and an undisclosed aviation firm.
HOUSTON — Lone Star PACE has provided $15 million in C-PACE financing for a 53,000-square-foot retail property located within The Allen mixed-use development near downtown Houston. Lone Star PACE partnered with lender Nuveen Green Capital to administer the financing. Locally based developer DC Partners owns The Allen. C-PACE (commercial property-assessed clean energy) financing allows commercial borrowers to obtain favorable loan terms in exchange for implementing eco-friendly devices and initiatives at their properties.
DALLAS — Locally based development and investment firm Shoal Creek Capital is nearing completion of Trinity Industrial Park, an 80,000-square-foot industrial project in Dallas. The 5.3-acre site at 8733 N. Stemmons Freeway is located near Love Field Airport on the city’s northwest side, and the development consists of two buildings with 28-foot clear heights. Full completion is slated for July. NAI Robert Lynn is marketing the project for lease.
HOUSTON — Orion Group Holdings has signed a 63,519-square-foot office lease for its new headquarters space in Houston. The locally based marine and onshore specialty construction services provider is taking three full floors at East River, a 150-acre mixed-use development by Midway in the city’s Historic Fifth Ward. Collin Grimes and Bill Boyer of CBRE represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Amanda Nebel of Parkway, which launched a new company with Midway in May 2023, internally represented ownership.