PASADENA, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Strawberry Plaza, a 13,753-square-foot retail center located in the eastern Houston suburb of Pasadena. The asset was listed for $1.7 million. Riley Sharman of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a private investor, and procured the buyer, a limited liability company.
GRAPEVINE, TEXAS — Video game retailer GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) plans to close more than 300 North American stores in 2020, the Grapevine, Texas-based company recently announced during its fourth-quarter earnings call. GameStop did not specify which stores and markets would be affected by the closures, but said that it anticipates the total number of shuttered stores to be equal to or greater than the 320 stores that it closed in 2019. GameStop saw its total comparable stores sales across the globe decrease 26.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019 relative to that period a year earlier. Although the company reported a 2 percent increase in global comparable sales in March 2020 relative to March 2019, GameStop executives said that the market disruption caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 has prompted it to move forward with its “global de-densification” plan. In fielding questions from analysts on the call, GameStop CEO George Sherman noted that although “every day brings a new challenge and new information as we navigate this very dynamic environment brought on by COVID-19,” the de-densification plan had been in effect prior to the healthcare crisis. In particular, he said, the plan centered on the transference of revenue …
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has negotiated the sale of Hawthorne at the District, a 284-unit multifamily community located in the East Riverside area of Austin. Built in 1987, the property features one- and two-bedroom units and amenities such as a pool, fitness center, clubhouse with a lounge and coffee bar, outdoor grilling areas, a dog park and Amazon package lockers. Patton Jones of NKF represented the sellers, North Carolina-based Hawthorne Residential Partners and New York-based Midway, in the transaction. Austin-based Wildhorn Capital purchased the asset for an undisclosed price. Patrick Short of NKF arranged acquisition financing on behalf of the new ownership, which will implement a value-add program at the property. Hawthorne at the District was 97.5 percent occupied at the time of sale.
UVALDE, TEXAS — Alabama-based general contractor Hoar Construction has begun work on a $90 million healthcare project in Uvalde, about 85 miles west of San Antonio. The new facility will be part of Uvalde Memorial Hospital and will include 32,870 square feet of institutional space, 31,872 square feet of administrative space and an 11,500 square-foot central utility plant. In addition, the facility will house an emergency department, physical and occupational therapy department, radiology department, urgent care department, an intensive care unit, a 25-bed medical surgical inpatient unit and 16 outpatient beds. The building is expected to be available for occupancy in September 2021.
PEARLAND, TEXAS — NAI Partners has arranged a 48,400-square-foot build-to-suit lease at 11200 Broadway St. in Pearland for HCA Houston Healthcare, which plans to open a Healthcare Center for Clinical Advancement at the site by early 2021. The healthcare provider has signed a long-term lease at the property, which will feature high-fidelity hospital simulation labs, connected classrooms and debriefing rooms where the health system’s nearly 7,000 nurses will receive ongoing clinical education and training. Griff Bandy and Joe Bright of NAI Partners represented HCA in the lease negotiations. A second HCA Healthcare Center for Clinical Advancement is planned for a location north of Houston.
RHOME, TEXAS — Dallas-based design-build firm Arco/Murray has completed a 47,000-square-foot high hazard facility for aeronautics firm Socomore in Rhome, located north of Fort Worth. The facility includes H-2 hazardous material production space and 10,000 square feet of H-3 hazardous material production space. Explosion proof electrical fixtures and a foam fire protection system with in-rack sprinklers were used throughout.
HOUSTON — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of 7555 Bellaire, a 43,631-square-foot shopping center in Houston. The property was built in 2004 and houses tenants such as Family Thrift Center, Alegria Dental Care and Club Fit. Justin Miller and Davis Hansen of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a Houston-based partnership, in the transaction. Additional terms of sale were not disclosed.
Development trends in commercial real estate are beholden to the whims of consumer behavior. When it comes to mixed-use in the 21st century, successful projects deliver a high-quality experience that centers on a sense of social belonging and connection — for living, working and playing alike. “In today’s experiential economy, demographic changes and shifts in consumer values and preferences across generations are converging on the desire for social connection,” says Brian Cramer, senior vice president and head of the Dallas office of mixed-use developer Newland Communities. “People crave experiences and connections, which is why mixed-use environments will become even more important in community development.” Bob Schultz, the developer of Mid Main, a mixed-use destination in Houston’s Midtown neighborhood, echoes Cramer’s position on man’s inherently social nature as a driver of growth in the mixed-use space. “Our experience is that these various populations are willing to live with each other as never before,” says Schultz. “Demographics of those who live in urban areas cross over in terms of age and economic differences in ways that are either comfortable or virtually unnoticed by the different populations. In other words, people who like to live, work and play in areas with density value …
AUSTIN, TEXAS — President Donald Trump has issued a major disaster declaration for Texas in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The order enables the state and local governments to receive federal funding to support medical and safety efforts. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made the announcement on Twitter yesterday afternoon after sending the Trump administration a formal request on Monday, March 23. At the time the letter was submitted, Abbott identified 352 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Texas and noted that the state has already spent more than $50 million in response to the crisis. Abbott also noted that the Texas Department of State Health Services had declared a COVID-19 a “public health disaster,” the first time such a label had been issued in Texas in more than 100 years. Numbers vary as to the current number of cases, as the state has launched a new system for reporting COVID-19. But data released by Johns Hopkins University on the morning of Thursday, March 26 puts the number of confirmed cases at roughly 1,300.
SUGAR LAND, TEXAS — A joint venture between Transwestern Development Corp. (TDC) and Diamond Realty Investments have acquired 20.8 acres in the southwestern Houston suburb of Sugar Land for the development of a 326,792-square-foot warehouse/distribution project. Branded Sugar Land Crossroads, the project will consist of two buildings designed for tenants ranging from 28,000 square feet to the full capacity of 326,792 square feet. The buildings will offer 32-foot clear heights and share trailer parking spaces and a 255-foot truck court. Completion is slated for spring 2021.