EULESS, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Texas Star Business Center, a 78,418-square-foot industrial building in Euless, located roughly midway between Dallas and Fort Worth. The property was built on 4.7 acres in 1984. Adam Abushagur of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer, both of which were private investors that requested anonymity.
El Paso’s industrial market is growing and maturing, as evidenced by a surge in investment demand from institutional capital sources over the last 18 to 24 months. Whereas in past cycles, institutional capital found its way to El Paso by developing here, new players have been ready to buy existing portfolios, but we have seen very little new spec development. Stonelake Capital Partners, LINK Industrial Properties and Equity Industrial Partners/Raith Capital Partners are examples of new investors actively buying into the El Paso industrial market. Several factors have contributed to El Paso’s rise on the radars of institutional investors, but the heart of this trend is simple rent growth. The average asking rent for Class A and B industrial properties increased by a stunning 15.8 percent between 2018 and 2019. Rent growth in the East El Paso submarket increased by an even greater margin of 24.3 percent. As those numbers suggest, demand for industrial space in El Paso, which is largely driven by manufacturing activity in the sister city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, is quite strong. Demand for space comes from a diverse set of industries, namely automotive, consumer goods and electronics. El Paso has also seen new industrial demand …
HOUSTON — Weatherford International, a Houston-based oilfield services firm, will cut its global workforce by 25 percent as part of a larger move to reduce capital expenditures by 50 percent in 2020 relative to 2019, the company announced on Wednesday. The company also plans to reduce its geographic footprint and reduce the headcount of its operations in North America by 38 percent. As of 2016, Weatherford, which also plans to delist itself from the New York Stock Exchange, had about 30,000 employees worldwide. Despite recent agreements by major-producing nations to undertake supply cuts, the impact of COVID-19 has drastically reduced energy demand. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude opened at $20.39 per barrel on Thursday, down from about $64 per barrel a year ago, an approximately 68 percent decrease.
DALLAS — JLL has negotiated the sale of Toll Hill Office Park, a 248,045-square-foot campus located one block south of the LBJ Freeway in North Dallas. The two-building property was recently renovated and offers a deli, common area conference room, atrium seating areas with Wi-Fi and covered parking. Parker McCormack of JLL represented the locally based seller, Cawley Partners, in the transaction. Jason Piering and Will Mogk of JLL arranged acquisition financing through NXT Capital on behalf of the buyer, Balfour Pacific Capital. The new ownership will use a portion of the proceeds to fund capital expenditures and tenant improvements.
HOUSTON AND PASADENA, TEXAS — Walgreens will open two COVID-19 testing sites in Harris County on Friday, April 17 as part of the Illinois-based pharmacy chain’s effort to ramp up testing in seven states. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo made the announcement yesterday. The sites, which will have the capacity to conduct 200 tests per day at each store, will be located at 14531 Westheimer Road in Houston and 101 W. Southmore Ave. in Pasadena.
HUMBLE, TEXAS — C.I.A. Services Inc., which provides community management services to property owners and homeowner associations, has acquired land in the northern Houston suburb of Humble to build a 15,000-square-foot office property. CIA Services will occupy the property as its third location in the Houston area. Dan Boyles and Liz Westcott-Brown of NAI Partners represented CIA Services in the land acquisition. Tom Condon Jr. of Colliers International represented the seller.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — United Properties, a developer of office, industrial and mixed-use projects, will open a new office in Austin. Local industry veteran Josh Delk, who served as a regional partner at Transwestern for the last 13 years, will lead the new office as senior vice president. United Properties is based in Minneapolis and also has an office in Denver. Company officials cited an increasingly diverse economy and lifestyle in Austin, as well as the city’s strong tech presence, as key factors in selecting the market for its next office.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued an opinion stating that property owners that have been economically hurt by the COVID-19 outbreak are not eligible for the temporary tax exemption under section 11.35 of the Texas Tax Code. The state’s top law enforcement official wrote the opinion in response to a request from State Senator Paul Bettencourt. In assessing the issue, Paxton noted that the temporary tax exemption identified in section 11.35, which was adopted in 2017 to give relief to property owners following Hurricane Harvey, only applied to “property physically harmed as a result of a declared disaster.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared the COVID-19 pandemic a disaster on March 13 and extended the declaration for another 30 days on Monday.
DALLAS — Austin-based Rastegar Property will develop a 270-unit high-rise apartment community at 1899 McKinney Ave. in Dallas. Units will feature fully equipped kitchens and washers and dryers, and amenities will include storage lockers, a pool, rooftop terrace and common areas on each floor. The property will also feature North America’s tallest living wall with over 40,000 estimated plants making up the structure. Rastegar has tapped San Francisco-based hospitality firm Sonder to operate the property, which is expected to be complete by early 2023.
PFLUGERVILLE, TEXAS — FourPoint Investment Sales Partners has negotiated the sale of Stone Hill Apartments, a 300-unit multifamily community located in the northern Austin suburb of Pflugerville. Units at the property feature stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors and private balconies. Amenities include a pool, movie theater, fitness center and a dog park. Kevin Dufour and Kyle Peco of FourPoint represented the locally based seller, Journeyman Group, in the transaction. A Seattle-based investor acquired the asset for an undisclosed price.