FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Development Services Group (DSG) will open the 226-room Kimpton Harper Hotel in downtown Fort Worth in spring 2021. The hotel will be housed within the 24-story historic Farmers & Mechanics National Bank building and will feature a penthouse bar and lounge, 10,000 square feet of meeting and event space and a rooftop observation deck. Davidson Hotels & Resorts will manage the property.
ODESSA, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Permian Storage, a 123-unit facility located in the West Texas city of Odessa. The self-storage property spans 15,513 square feet of net rentable of non-climate-controlled space, with units ranging in size from 45 to 280 square feet. Arol Horkavy and Jon Danklefs of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a limited liability company, in the transaction. Other terms of sale were not disclosed.
SAN ANTONIO — Partners Capital, the investment arm of NAI Partners, has acquired Blanco Crossing, a 22,606-square-foot shopping center in north-central San Antonio. The property was 84 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Sake Café, The Mailing Spot, Kennedy’s Public House and KC Pet Products. Andrew Pappas and Adam Hawkins of the Partners Capital team worked with Philip Levy and Jack Newman of Marcus & Millichap to close the deal. Veritex Bank provided acquisition financing. Partners Capital targets commercial real estate properties in Texas in the $5 million to $30 million range.
PITTSBURGH AND HOUSTON — PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC) and Spanish financial institution Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE: BBVA) have signed a definitive agreement for PNC to acquire BBVA’s American operations, BBVA USA Bancshares Inc., for $11.6 billion. The transaction, which has been approved by both companies’ boards of directors, is expected to close in mid-2021, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. The transaction will bolster PNC’s national presence and create the fifth-largest bank in the United States, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. PNC will move beyond Charlotte-based Truist, the newly formed merger of equals between BB&T and SunTrust Bank. Houston-based BBVA USA Bancshares manages $104 billion in assets and provides commercial and retail banking services through its banking subsidiary BBVA USA. The bank operates 637 branches in Texas, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. PNC operates 2,300 bank branches and nearly 18,000 partner ATMs nationwide. As of Sept. 30, 2020, PNC had $300 billion of assets under administration. When combined with PNC’s banking footprint, the expanded company will have a coast-to-coast franchise with a presence in 29 of the 30 largest markets in the United States. “Our acquisition of BBVA USA will accelerate …
By Brett Merz, senior vice president and asset manager, KBS As this unprecedented year hits the midpoint of the fourth quarter and office investors consider their options, one market in Texas stands out: Dallas. This market has historically shown strong resiliency and continues to do so throughout the pandemic. While Texas as a whole has been ahead of many other states in terms of allowing tenants that are eager to return to the office after the COVID-19 shutdown to do so, the Dallas office market has especially embraced reopening and returning to work. According to a new report by Kastle Systems, Dallas County leads the country in terms of the share of employees who are back to their workplaces following government-mandated shutdowns. Across the 10 largest metroplexes in the country, an average of 27.4 percent of employees are back in the office, while Dallas employees are returning to work at a rate of 43.3 percent. This figure compares favorably to proportions of employees returning to offices in other markets, including Los Angeles (34 percent), Washington, D.C. (24 percent) and San Francisco (14.7 percent). This news is a testament to tenants’ appetite for occupying office space and the market’s resiliency despite …
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Locally based investment firm Fort Capital has sold a portfolio of 18 light industrial buildings totaling 606,889 square feet located throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex. Each of the Class B properties offers proximity to one of the metroplex’s major interstates. The portfolio was 95 percent occupied at the time of sale. The buyer was not disclosed. Stephen Bailey, Dustin Volz, Zane Marcell, Wesley Gilmer and Erin Lazarus of JLL represented the seller in the transaction. Birtcher Anderson, in a joint venture with Belay Investment Group, purchased the portfolio.
GEORGETOWN, TEXAS — Titan Development has broken ground on Phase I of NorthPark 35, a project in the northern Austin suburb of Georgetown that will add 330,000 square feet of industrial space across two buildings to the local supply. The project includes the extension of Aviation Drive to intersect with State Highway 130 and Interstate 35. Titan Development, which has offices in Albuquerque and San Antonio, expects to complete Phase I of the 146-acre project in the spring of 2021. One building will be partially occupied by Georgetown-based Texas Speed & Performance, while the remaining space will be marketed to future users.
CONROE, TEXAS — VGXI Inc., a biotechnology firm that supports the gene therapy and DNA vaccine industries, will open a new life sciences and headquarters facility in Conroe, about 40 miles north of Houston. Local media outlets, including Community Impact Newspaper and the Houston Business Journal, report that the facility will span 240,000 square feet. The company’s new space will be located within Deison Technology Park and will allow VGXI to quintuple its current production capacity. BE&K Building Group is handling the design and build of the project. Construction is underway, and the facility is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2022.
PFLUGERVILLE, TEXAS — Cowboys Fit, a concept that brings the fitness equipment and programs of the Dallas Cowboys to regular users, has opened a 57,000-square-foot facility in the northern Austin suburb of Pflugerville. The space is located at 1401 Town Center Drive and features a basketball court, indoor pool, outdoor training area and a childcare area. Members also have access to boutique-style fitness classes like yoga, spin, barre and circuit training.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Austin-based Greenstar Development has completed 49 Street Office Park, a 32,900-square-foot adaptive reuse project in the Rosedale neighborhood of Austin. Designed by Mark Odom Studio, the two-story building features three office spaces connected by outdoor work areas. Franklin-Alan served as the general contractor for the project. Architecture firms Britt Design Group and Thirteen23 have committed as tenants to the building.
