ODESSA, TEXAS — Houston-based developer Archway Properties has broken ground on a 28,222-square-foot industrial project in the West Texas city of Odessa. The project will be a build-to-suit for TEAM Inc., an engineering services firm based in metro Houston, and will feature 21,222 square feet of warehouse and light manufacturing space and 7,000 square feet of office space. Completion is slated for December.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — JLL has arranged debt and equity financing for Stillwater Crystal Springs, a 387-unit apartment project in Fort Worth. The community will be situated on roughly seven acres along the Trinity River roughly three miles from the downtown area. Floor plans will consist of studio, one- and two-bedrooms units, and amenities will include a pool, fitness center, outdoor lounge, coworking space and a dog park. De’On Collins led a JLL team that placed a 40-year, floating-rate construction loan through Texas Capital Bank on behalf of the developer, Dallas-based Stillwater Capital. The team also delivered CrossHarbor Capital Partners as the equity investor. Construction is underway and expected to be complete in 2022.
HOUSTON — Multifamily developer Alliance Residential Co. has acquired 13 acres at 12115 Main St. in Houston for the construction of a 336-unit apartment community. The property will be located near the Texas Medical Center and will feature one- and two-bedroom units. Chris Bergmann Jr. of JLL represented the seller, Taeken Ltd., in the land sale. Groundbreaking activities are scheduled to begin next week.
DALLAS — Knighthead Funding, a direct lender with offices in Connecticut and Florida, has provided a $26.9 million acquisition loan for a portfolio of industrial flex buildings in Dallas. The portfolio spans approximately 152,000 square feet across 12 obsolete buildings, all of which are located in the Dallas Design District. The borrower, locally based investment firm Quadrant Investment Properties, plans to convert the properties into single- and multi-tenant office buildings. A portion of the proceeds will be used to fund tenant improvements and leasing costs.
LAGO VISTA, TEXAS — Bellomy & Co. has brokered the sale of Texas Hills Storage, a 192-unit self-storage facility in Lago Vista, located about 35 miles northwest of downtown Austin. The property spans 28,500 net rentable square feet and includes climate- and non-climate-controlled space. Bill Bellomy and Michael Johnson of Bellomy represented the locally based seller and procured the Arlington, Texas-based buyer in the deal.
HOUSTON — Law firm Weycer, Kaplan, Pulaski & Zuber PC has signed a 16,768-square-foot office lease at Weslayan Tower, a 20-story building located at 24 Greenway Plaza in West Houston. Granite Properties owns the 509,077-square-foot, Class A building, which features a recently upgraded lobby, fitness center and outdoor workspace. Kevin Kushner of CBRE represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Jon Dutton and Steve West represented Granite Properties internally.
Houston is less reliant on the oil and gas industry than it once was, and considerable strides have been made to diversify the economy away from the oil patch. Still, the hard reality remains: Houston’s prosperity and hydrocarbons are intrinsically linked. Decoupling one from the other will be devilishly difficult. The world will derive the preponderance of its energy from oil and gas for decades to come, but market share will continue to diminish, and oil and gas revenue inevitably will stagnate and decline. Developing alternative economic drivers will be challenging, but Houston has the benefit of time on its side. However, the current coronavirus crisis is negatively impacting oil prices and therefore the Houston economy in the near term. Following the shutdown of the global economy to fight COVID-19, the price of a barrel of crude plunged from over $60 — well above the marginal replacement cost from East Texas fields — to less than $20. Although prices recovered to the mid-$30 range recently, they remain below the marginal cost of discovering and extracting a replacement barrel, annulling the incentive to prospect for new reserves or build additional refining and transportation capacity. Indeed, the Houston economy was impacted more …
AUSTIN, TEXAS — The Texas economy added 237,800 nonfarm jobs in May, bringing its current unemployment rate to 13 percent, according to a new report from the Texas Workforce Commission. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state’s unemployment rate was among the lowest in the country, clocking in at 3.5 percent in February, and the current rate of 13 percent falls below the national rate of 13.3 percent. The bulk of the employment gains — 176,400 jobs — came in the leisure and hospitality sector as hotels, restaurants, bars and movie theaters have reopened at limited capacities and with social distancing guidelines in place. Education and health services also contributed to the growth, adding approximately 52,000 new jobs. One of the first states to implement an aggressive reopening plan, Texas entered Phase III of its economic recovery plan in early June, allowing businesses to expand from 25 to 50 percent occupancy. On June 12, restaurants were permitted to boost their capacities to 75 percent, and on June 19, the state gave amusement parks and carnivals the green light to reopen at 50 percent capacities. About 2.6 million unemployment claims have been filed in Texas since mid-March when the pandemic began.
HOUSTON — Google has leased office space at 3663 Washington Ave. in the Buffalo Heights mixed-use development in Houston, according to reports from several local media outlets, including The Houston Chronicle, which first reported the news. The office will be Google’s first in Houston and will serve the California-based tech giant’s cloud technology sales division. CultureMap Houston, a publication covering the city’s lifestyle and restaurant scene, reports that the office will open in early 2021. Buffalo Heights is a mixed-use development by BKR Memorial and Midway that features office and multifamily uses, as well as a retail component anchored by an H-E-B grocery store.
HOUSTON — Healthpeak Properties, a REIT focused on life sciences, seniors housing and medical office real estate, is underway on construction of a 116,500-square-foot medical office project in Houston. The five-story building is located at 7500 Fannin St. on the campus of The Woman’s Hospital of Texas, about one mile south of Texas Medical Center. The property is 36 percent preleased and is expected to be complete in December 2021. Transwestern is marketing the project, which also includes the construction of a new parking garage. The Woman’s Hospital of Texas was established in 1976 to provide a comprehensive suite of services for women, including obstetrics and gynecology.