DALLAS — The Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) industrial market posted a vacancy rate of 6.5 percent to close the third quarter while seeing its 11-year streak of positive quarterly absorption remain intact, according to a new report from Newmark Knight Frank (NKF). Though overall vacancy is up 30 basis points from a year ago, the metroplex absorbed approximately 3.6 million square feet of space in the most recent quarter, down just 7 percent from that period in 2019. This activity indicates that industrial users are still attracted to the market’s exceptional job and population growth despite the recession-inducing COVID-19 pandemic. While third-quarter net absorption was also down from the second quarter of this year, industrial users and owners transacted more leases (604) in that period, up from 486 deals during the previous quarter. Among the largest deals inked in the third quarter were Uline’s 1.1 million-square-foot lease in Las Colinas, Amazon’s 1 million-square-foot lease in southeast Dallas and HelloFresh’s 375,000-square-foot lease, also in Las Colinas. Year-to-date, the market has already absorbed more than 17 million square feet of industrial space. The report pegged the amount of industrial product under construction at roughly 28.3 million square feet, but with vacancy up 300 …
SUGAR LAND, TEXAS — A development team led by Houston-based Lionstone Investments will renovate Sugar Land Town Square, a 1.4 million-square-foot mixed-use destination located on the southwestern outskirts of Houston. Lionstone is partnering with Dallas-based creative real estate firm Rebees and Planned Community Developers on the project, which will upgrade landscaping and outdoor common areas to allow for social distancing and more public seating as part of Phase I. In addition, the team will add new signage and tenant storefronts and revamp the tenant roster to include local entrepreneurs with original shopping and dining concepts. Completion of the first phase of the project is scheduled for mid-2021.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Developer HPI Residential has completed Rhythm Apartments, a 262-unit multifamily community in Austin’s Tech Row area. Designed by Britt Design Group and Charlan Brock Associates, the community features studio, one- and two-bedroom units. Amenities include a club lounge with a kitchenette, coffee bar, TV and socially distant workstations, as well as a separate business center with built-in desks and a conference room. Rhythm also offers a game room, pool, fitness center, pet park and bike storage area. Rents start at $1,000 per month for a studio apartment.
SAN ANGELO, TEXAS — Colliers Mortgage has provided a $9.8 million Fannie Mae acquisition loan for Arroyo Square, a 182-unit multifamily asset in San Angelo, located roughly midway between Austin and Lubbock. Built in 1977, the property features one-, two- and three-bedroom units and amenities such as a pool, fitness center, business center, picnic area and tennis and basketball courts. Colliers originated the loan, which carried a 10-year term and a 30-year amortization scheduled through a partnership with Old Capital Lending on behalf of the borrower, Arroyo Square LLC.
GARLAND, TEXAS — Kids Empire, which provides secure indoor playgrounds for children, has joined the tenant roster at the 1 million-square-foot Firewheel Town Center in the northeastern Dallas suburb of Garland. Kids Empire now occupies 11,703 square feet at the open-air mall, which is owned by Simon Property Group and anchored by Macy’s, Dillard’s, AMC Theatres, Dick’s Sporting Goods and others. Robin Barrow of Weitzman, along with Stephan Ktorza and Shelby Dopps of Kidder Matthews, represented the tenant in the lease negotiations.
SAN ANTONIO — California-based beer brewer Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) will relocate its corporate headquarters from Los Angeles to downtown San Antonio, according to multiple news sources including CultureMap San Antonio and the San Antonio Business Journal. According to the former publication, PBR was headquartered in San Antonio between 1996 and 2006 and still maintains an office there. Local cable news outlet WOAI reports that PBR currently has about 60 employees in San Antonio and plans to grow its workforce to more than 115 employees in the coming months. PBR owns several different brands, Old Milwaukee, Rainier and National Bohemian.
PFLUGERVILLE, TEXAS — A partnership between Thompson Realty Capital and Trez Capital has broken ground on The Dalton, a 350-unit apartment community in the northern Austin metro of Pflugerville. The property will be situated on 21 acres and will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with quartz or granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Amenities will include a pool, courtyard, communal kitchen spaces, a social bar, fitness center, independent study rooms, a dog park and outdoor walking trails. The Dalton is the partnership’s fourth project and is expected to be complete in 2021. Texas Capital Bank provided construction financing.
MCKINNEY, TEXAS — General contractor KWA Construction has completed Axiom Hub 121, a 246-unit multifamily project located in the northern Dallas suburb of McKinney. Designed by Domus Studio Group and developed by Seneca Investments, the property spans 340,000 square feet within the Craig Ranch master-planned development. Axiom Hub 121 offers one- and two-bedroom units that are furnished with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, built-in workspaces and individual washers and dryers. Amenities include a pool with a tanning ledge, car wash facility, a sports lounge with a coffee bar, 24-hour fitness center, bocce ball court, Amazon package lockers and coworking space. Rents start at approximately $1,150 per month for a one-bedroom unit.
HOUSTON — CBRE has provided a $20 million Freddie Mac bridge loan for the refinancing of Vintage Apartments, a 292-unit multifamily community located in the Brookhollow neighborhood of Houston. The 10-year, floating-rate loan is the first to be purchased by Freddie Mac that is indexed by the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), the new benchmark rate that lenders use to price loans and the replacement of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). According to Apartments.com, Vintage Apartments was built in 1972 and offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, as well as a pool, playground, outdoor grilling area and onsite laundry facilities. The borrower was not disclosed.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Heritage Title Co. of Austin Inc., which provides title insurance and settlement services, has preleased 20,459 square feet of office space at Indeed Tower, a 36-story development nearing completion at 200 W. Sixth St. in downtown Austin. The developer, a partnership between Trammell Crow and Principal Real Estate Investors, broke ground on the 673,000-square-foot tower, formerly known as Block 71, in October 2017. The partnership expects to compete construction during the first half of next year. Troy Holme, Casey Ford and Katie Ekstrom of CBRE represented ownership in the lease negotiations, while Derek Lewis and Todd Gilfillan of Lincoln Property Co. represented the tenant.