ROUND ROCK, TEXAS — NAI Partners has negotiated a 12,946-square-foot retail lease at The Triangle Center, located at 2000 Mays St. N. in the northern Austin suburb of Round Rock. Joe DeCola of NAI Partners represented the undisclosed landlord in the lease negotiations. The tenant was Genuine Parts Co., a replacement automotive parts retailer headquartered in Atlanta.
By Dustin Devine, vice president, Avison Young In 2020, COVID-19 further compounded the issues Houston’s office market was facing with depressed oil and gas prices. With many office users implementing work-from-home policies — although a shift back to the office is in progress — and minimal business travel, there was weak demand for office space in 2020. Houston’s office market is expecting a resurgence of sorts beginning in mid- to late-2021 due to increased vaccine rollouts and work-from-home burnout, along with commodity prices continuing to tick upward. Increased demand will not occur overnight, however, as it will take years to absorb all of the current available space. Most activity at present is expiration-driven. Although Houston’s economy today is more diversified than it was in the 1980s, much of the city’s business either revolves around or touches the oil and gas industry. Avison Young’s recent Office Market Report shows that current citywide office availability is over 25 percent, with nearly 6.5 million square feet of sublease space available. With availability rates and the amount of sublease inventory at such high levels, it is clear that many industries are hurting, including commercial real estate. As a firm, we are doing whatever we …
HOUSTON — A partnership between two developers, Houston-based Hines and Montreal-based Ivanhoe Cambridge, has topped out Texas Tower, a 47-story office building located in downtown Houston. Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli, the 1 million-square-foot building is currently 40 percent preleased to tenants such as Hines and law firms Vinson & Elkins LLP and DLA Piper. Amenities will include a fitness center, conference center, tenant lounge, lobby coworking area and rooftop gardens. Completion is slated for the fourth quarter.
DALLAS — Cortland, an Atlanta-based multifamily developer, has opened Cortland Farmers Market, a $74 million apartment community located at 1011 S. Harwood St. in downtown Dallas. Units come in one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Amenities include on-demand fitness and wellness classes, a 24-hour fitness and yoga studio, private resident bar, resort-style rooftop pool and a dog park. Rents start at approximately $1,500 per month for a one-bedroom unit.
LEANDER, TEXAS — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of The Conley, a 259-unit apartment community located in the northern Austin suburb of Leander. Completed in March 2020, the garden-style property offers floor plans that range from 521-square-foot studios to 1,598-square-foot three-bedroom units. Unit interiors feature stainless steel appliances, island kitchens with quartz countertops and private patios or yards. Communal amenities include a resort-style pool with private cabanas and barbecue grills, a resident lounge with a market pantry and coffee bar, dog park, 24-hour gym and a yoga room. John Carr and Ben Fuller of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Stillwater Capital Investments LLC, in the transaction. Scott Wadler and Matthew Nihan of Berkadia arranged acquisition financing through CrossHarbor Capital Partners on behalf of the buyer, a partnership between Miami-based Constellation Group and Beacon Real Estate Group.
HOUSTON — California-based Canyon Partners Real Estate has acquired a $45 million preferred equity stake in Drewery Place, a 357-unit multifamily building in the Midtown area of Houston. The property features studio, one- and two-bedroom units and amenities such as a resort-style pool with swim-up bar, fitness center, pet park, sky lounge and coworking spaces. Australian developer Caydon Property Group delivered the building, which includes 11,000 square feet of retail space, in 2019 as part of its Laneways mixed-use project.
PORTLAND, TEXAS — Houston-based McLeod Sears is underway on the redevelopment of an 83,000-square-foot former Kmart store in the Gulf Coast city of Portland. Construction will soon begin on pad sites for two tenants — Chick-fil-A and Autozone — that have committed to the new center, which is located near the Port of Corpus Christi. Z Construction is the general contractor for the project.
DENTON, TEXAS — Dallas-based developer Hunt Southwest has broken ground on Phase I of I-35 Convergence, a speculative industrial project in the North Texas city of Denton that could ultimately feature as much as 500,000 square feet of Class A space. The site is located within Westpark Industrial Park, just northwest of the Interstate 35 East/West split. Building I will span 250,000 square feet and will include 32-foot clear heights and an ESFR sprinkler system. Building II will be a build-to-suit for a user with a 100,000- to 250,000-square-foot requirement. Completion of Building I is slated for December. Colliers International is leasing the project.
DENTON, TEXAS — Square Mile Capital has provided a $45.5 million acquisition loan for Village at Rayzor Ranch, a 300-unit multifamily community located within the Rayzor Ranch mixed-use development in Denton. Built in 2019, the property offers amenities such as a pool, fitness center, art clubhouse, outdoor grilling areas, dog park, pickleball and bocce ball courts, coworking space, coffee bar and an outdoor yoga terrace. Dustin Dulin of JLL arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, Seven Seas Holdings. EPC Real Estate Group developed Village at Rayzor, which was approximately 90 percent occupied at the time of sale.
LEWISVILLE, TEXAS — Berkadia has provided a $26.8 million Freddie Mac acquisition loan for Arbor Creek, a 280-unit apartment community in the northern Dallas suburb of Lewisville. The property was built in 1984, and its units offer washers and dryers and private balconies/patios. Amenities include a fitness center, dog park and picnic areas. Mitch Sinberg and Brad Williamson of Berkadia originated the floating-rate financing on behalf of the borrower, Miami-based Eagle Property Capital. The seller was Dallas-based CONTI Organization.