EL PASO, TEXAS — Global insurance brokerage firm HUB International has leased 13,000 square feet at WestStar Tower, a 20-story, Class A office building under construction in downtown El Paso. Other tenants committed to the project include Corralito restaurant as well as WestStar Bank and Hunt Cos. Will Brown and Adin Brown with Sonny Brown Associates are leading the leasing effort for office and retail users, as well as sales efforts for the project’s office condominiums. HUB has more than 475 offices worldwide employing 12,000 people.
MELISSA, TEXAS — General contractor Talley Riggins Construction Group has broken ground on Melissa United Methodist Church, a 7,630-square-foot civic project that will be located about 45 miles northeast of Dallas. The church will feature an open worship space that can house up to 329 people and a nursery. Shanks Architects designed the project, which will be situated on 5.5 acres and is expected to be complete in January 2021.
RICHMOND, TEXAS — Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. has broken ground on an 850,000-square-foot fulfillment center for Amazon in Richmond, a southwestern suburb of Houston, a project that is expected to bring about 1,000 new jobs to the region. The property will be situated on 93.5 acres at 10507 Harlem Road and is expected to open in 2021. Ware Malcomb is designing the project, and Graycor Construction Co. is the general contractor. Other project partners include engineering firms HAS & Associates, Langan Engineering, Jordon & Skala Engineers and Harrington Group Inc. Tony Patronella and Jeanie Gibbs of locally based firm Read King represented the seller of the land. Stephen Schneidau of Cushman & Wakefield and Matt O’Brian of KBC Advisors represented the buyer.
TAYLOR, TEXAS — Bellomy & Co. has brokered the sale of Taylor Hutto Self Storage, a 501-unit facility located in the Central Texas city of Taylor. The property features climate- and non-climate-controlled units, as well as covered boat and RV parking space. The facility spans 60,605 square feet of net rentable space and was 86 percent leased at the time of sale. Bill Bellomy and Michael Johnson of Bellomy & Co. represented the seller, an unnamed company based in Plainfield, Ill., in the sale. The buyer was not disclosed.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Amcor Rigid Plastics USA Inc., a producer of plastic products for the food and healthcare industries, has renewed its 269,388-square-foot lease in Fort Worth. The landlord, ML Realty Partners, signed Amcor to the extension at 4100 Fleetwood Road on the city’s northeast side near DFW International Airport. According to LoopNet Inc., the facility sits on 16 acres. David Stechly and Greg Kloiber of Campio represented the tenant in the lease transaction.
DALLAS — Curtis Specialized Moving & Storage has renewed and expanded its industrial lease in Dallas’ South Stemmons submarket. The locally based company renewed its 43,200-square-foot lease at 460 W. Mockingbird Lane and leased an additional 40,500 square feet of neighboring space at Mockingbird Place. Brock Wilson and Joe Santaularia of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services represented the landlord, a private equity firm based in New York, in the lease negotiations. David Easterling of CBRE represented the tenant.
DALLAS — Younger Partners has arranged two office leases totaling 18,003 square feet at Republic Center, a 50-story tower in downtown Dallas. Lexitas, a court reporting and legal records firm, renewed and expanded its lease to 13,725 square feet, and Deans Stepp Law Firm leased 4,278 square feet. Trae Anderson and Kathy Parmenter of Younger Partners represented the unnamed landlord in the lease deals. Conor McCarthy and Maggie Birnbach of JLL represented Lexitas, and Sanders Thompson of Transwestern represented Deans Stepp. Republic Center spans more than 1 million square feet of office, retail and multifamily space near the DART St. Paul light rail station in Dallas’ central business district.
DALLAS — The Communication Workers of America (CWA) has announced that Dallas-based AT&T has informed the telecommunications and IT union its plans to permanently shutter 250 AT&T Mobility and Cricket Wireless stores. The move would impact 1,300 retail jobs. There are currently more than 16,000 AT&T retail locations in the United States, including authorized retailers and company-owned stores and kiosks. CWA also reports that A&T plans to cut 3,400 technician and clerical jobs across the country over the next few weeks. The Dallas Morning News reports that AT&T had to inform CWA, which represents 100,000 AT&T workers, of the planned job cuts due to a collective bargaining agreement covering the workers. The newspaper also reports the job cuts and store closures are part of AT&T’s $6 billion cost-cutting plan. According to CWA, AT&T’s CEO Randall Stephenson pledged in 2017 to create 7,000 new jobs if President Donald Trump’s corporate tax cuts passed. Instead, a CWA review of AT&T’s quarterly reports shows that the company has cut over 41,000 jobs, not including the planned cuts announced June 16.
HOUSTON — Banyan Residential and financial partner Marble Capital have purchased Lofts at the Ballpark, a 375-unit apartment community located one block from Minute Maid Park and BBVA Stadium in downtown Houston. Built in 2001 by Houston-based Hanover Co., the four-story building is located at 610 Saint Emanuel St. and features one- and two-bedroom floor plans. Community amenities include a 24-hour business center, grills, spin room, game room, internet café with a coffee bar, movie theater and two swimming pools and sundecks. Lofts at the Ballpark is the first acquisition in the Houston market for Los Angeles-based Banyan Residential. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
SAN ANTONIO — Worth & Associates has broken ground on Walker Ranch Business Park, a two-building, 135,000-square-foot office park in San Antonio. The site is located on 10.8 acres at the corner of Wurzbach Parkway and West Avenue in the city’s North Central submarket. Walker Ranch will comprise a 58,000-square-foot, two-story office building with 10-foot ceilings, two conference rooms, break rooms and a courtyard. The second building will span 78,000 square feet of flex office space with 26-foot clear heights, skylights and outdoor break areas and porches. Worth & Associates plans to deliver the flex building in first-quarter 2021 and the office building in second-quarter 2021. Shawn Gulley represented Worth & Associates in the land purchase internally, and Eldon Roalson of Roalson Interests Inc. represented the seller, Coker United Methodist Church. The project team includes Joeris General Contractors and architect Chesney Morales.