AUSTIN, TEXAS — Data center REIT Digital Realty Trust (NYSE: DLR) will relocate its global headquarters from San Francisco to Austin. In announcing the move, Digital Realty cited the state’s affordable cost of living for employees, as well as its highly educated workforce and pro-business climate as the key drivers of the relocation. Data Center Knowledge reports that Digital Realty has about 30 data centers in Texas spanning 4 million square feet with a capacity for more than 120 megawatts of power. Details about the company’s new office property were not released. Digital Realty joins Oracle and Tesla as the latest publicly traded companies originally based in California to make sizable investments or relocations in Austin.
GREENVILLE, TEXAS — Philadelphia-based Binswanger Commercial Real Estate Services has brokered the sale of an approximately 1 million-square-foot industrial property in Greenville, located northeast of Dallas. The site consists of a 626,682-square-foot warehouse and a 418,482-square-foot manufacturing building set on more than 100 acres. Locally based manufacturer Fritz Industries sold the property to private investment firm EPM Partners for an undisclosed price. Holmes Davis of Binswanger brokered the deal. Cary Pollack and Judah Neuman of Meridian Capital Group arranged acquisition financing through Cerco Funding LLC.
SAN ANTONIO — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital has funded an $18.5 million Freddie Mac loan for the refinancing of Waters at Elm Creek, a mixed-income housing community located on the north side of San Antonio. The property includes one-, two- and three-bedroom units that are restricted to earners making between 50 and 80 percent of the area median income. Communal amenities include a pool and a 24-hour fitness center. Phil Melton of Bellwether’s Dallas office originated the loan. The borrower was not disclosed.
GREGORY, TEXAS — Dallas-based HALL Structured Finance has provided a $15.5 million construction loan for The Glades II, a 144-unit multifamily project in Gregory, located 10 miles outside of Corpus Christi. The garden-style complex will consist of seven three-story buildings with an average unit size of 948 square feet. Amenities will include a clubhouse, business center, media room, fitness center, pool and a playground. Elad Dattelkramer of ARC Israel sourced the debt on behalf of the borrower, a partnership between Torno Properties LLC and Cleburne Oaks GP. Completion is scheduled for the first quarter of 2022.
FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS — San Francisco-based industrial giant Prologis has acquired a 49,915-square-foot warehouse that is situated on 3.8 acres at 2168 W. Diplomat Drive in the northern Dallas metro of Farmers Branch. The seller was Ngan Brothers LLC. Dan Spika of Henry S. Miller Brokerage negotiated the transaction. Prologis recently announced that it completed $25 billion in investments in 2020.
When the pandemic took hold and rents of commercial properties began to waver, many experts in the industry expected a flood of distressed properties to hit the market in mid- to late 2020. To date, however, that hasn’t happened to a large extent. Valuation firms assumed they would get busier as properties fell upon hard times. Karl Finkelstein is vice president of Business Development and senior managing director for Valbridge Property Advisors, an independent, commercial valuation and advisory services firm based in Naples, Fla. with 80 offices nationwide. Finkelstein spoke recently to REBusinessOnline and explains that while not many high-profile sales have happened, other factors have kept those in his area of the industry busy in recent times. Finkelstein covers likely outcomes for distressed properties in 2021 and which sectors are performing well. A flight to quality, low rates and a reevaluation of shifting pandemic timelines have meant that the valuation business has its work cut out for it. Asset Type Winners and Losers There isn’t much surprising in the list of property types experiencing difficulties at the moment. Lodging properties (especially those tied to conventions), fly-to resorts, urban retail and standalone restaurants (particularly those without drive-thrus) all experienced a …
MIAMI, OKLA. — Fort Worth-based investment firm MAG Capital Partners has sold a 206,341-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility in Miami, located in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma. Built in 1971, the 27.7-acre site comprises four buildings with 30-foot clear heights, four drive-in doors and six loading docks. Automotive parts supplier Hopkins Manufacturing Corp. occupies the property on a long-term basis. The facility was renovated in 2015, with an 85,000-square-foot addition built onsite. The site has remaining acreage for potential future development. Peter Bauman and Tivon Moffitt of Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, represented both MAG Capital Partners and the Wisconsin-based private buyer in the transaction.
DALLAS — Sherman Residential has acquired Axis Kessler Park Apartments, a 299-unit multifamily community in West Dallas. Units at the property, which was formerly known as Lincoln Kessler Park, feature quartz countertops, custom cabinetry, individual washers and dryers and private balconies or yards in select units. Amenities include a pool, exercise center, pet park, business center, putting green, outdoor lounge and a complimentary virtual fitness membership. The seller was not disclosed.
PASADENA, TEXAS — JLL has negotiated the sale of a 300-unit workforce housing community located in the eastern Houston suburb of Pasadena. The garden-style property is located near Beltway 8 and Port Houston. Chris Young, Joey Rippel and Kyle Whitney of JLL represented the privately held seller, Chicago-based investment firm 29th Street Capital, in the deal. The buyer and sales price were not disclosed.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Los Angeles-based investment firm Langdon Street Capital has purchase Broadstone Crossing, a 225-unit apartment community in North Austin. The property was built in 2006 and offers amenities such as a pool, dog park and a fitness center. Sean Sorrell, Joe Dowdle and Ryan McBride of JLL represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The sales price was not disclosed.