TERRELL, TEXAS — Ventures Development Group and Batson-Cook Development Co. (BCDC) have broken ground on a 270-unit multifamily project in Terrell, an eastern suburb of Dallas. The property will be situated on 10.8 acres within the Crossroads at Terrell mixed-use development and will feature studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Amenities will include a pool, playground, dog park, fitness center, demonstration kitchen and multiple lounge areas. Hodges Architecture is designing the project, and Construction Enterprises Inc. is serving as general contractor. The opening is slated for the fourth quarter.
Texas
WIMBERLEY, TEXAS — Civitas Senior Living has opened Alexis Pointe Senior Living, an 83-unit seniors housing community in Wimberley, located outside San Marcos in Central Texas. The property is located near Wimberley Town Square, the Cypress Creek Nature Preserve and Blue Hole Regional Park. Alexis Pointe Senior Living features 49 assisted living apartments, 24 memory care suites and 10 independent living cottages, as well as resort-style amenities.
LAKE JACKSON, TEXAS — Ready Capital has closed a $4.8 million loan for the acquisition, renovation and stabilization of a 72-unit apartment community in the South Brazoria County submarket. Upon acquisition, the sponsor will address deferred maintenance and upgrade existing units. Ready Capital closed the nonrecourse, floating-rate loan, which features a 36-month term, two extension options, flexible prepayment and a facility to provide future funding for capital expenditures. The property name and sponsor were not disclosed.
DALLAS — Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: PDM) is under contract to acquire Galleria Office Towers in Dallas for $400 million. Situated at the corner of the Dallas North Tollway and the LBJ Freeway in the Far North Dallas neighborhood, the three office buildings total 1.5 million square feet and were built between 1982 and 1991. The properties are also attached to Galleria Dallas, a shopping destination with over 140 stores and 40 restaurants, as well as the 432-room Westin Galleria Hotel. The seller, CBRE Global Investors, spent more than $20 million in capital improvements at the properties. Amenities include lounges, conference centers, a fitness center and rooftop terrace. Piedmont, an Atlanta-based REIT, listed the transaction in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing but did not disclose the property name. However, multiple local media reports identified the acquired asset. The transaction is expected to close this quarter. JLL marketed the Galleria portfolio for sale. It is nearly 90 percent leased to tenants such as Amazon, Ryan LLC, Ansira Partners, Kimley-Horn and Hospital Corp. of America. Piedmont owns several office buildings in the Dallas market, including Park Place on Turtle Creek and One Lincoln Park. Other markets the firm targets …
AUSTIN, TEXAS — CBRE has arranged $72 million in debt and equity capital for the development of 701 Rio, a 120,000-square-foot speculative office project in downtown Austin. Mike Landon and Griffin Papaila of CBRE arranged a construction loan through Bank of Texas and BancFirst and delivered Barings as an equity partner to the borrower, B&Z Investments LLC. B&Z and Hensel Phelps, the co-developer and general contractor, broke ground on the project in January and expect to complete it in June 2021. BGK Architects designed the project, which will include 12,000 square feet of retail space and five stories of underground parking.
HOUSTON — Ready Capital has closed a loan of an undisclosed amount for the acquisition and stabilization of a 219-unit apartment community in Houston’s Greenway Plaza submarket. Upon acquisition, the sponsor will use a portion of the loan proceeds to renovate units and achieve market-rent premiums. The nonrecourse loan carried a fixed interest rate, a 60-year term and a declining prepayment schedule. The sponsor and property name were not disclosed.
LONGVIEW, TEXAS — MedCore Partners and The National Realty Group (TNRG) have acquired Parkview on Hollybrook, a 189-unit seniors housing community in Longview, approximately 60 miles west of Shreveport, La. The campus offers 126 independent living, 41 assisted living and 22 memory care residences. The buyers intend to develop land adjacent to the existing campus to add independent living cottages by early 2021. Integral Senior Living (ISL) will manage the community. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
LUBBOCK, TEXAS — SVN International Corp., a full-service real estate franchisor of the SVN brand, has opened SVN | Westar Commercial Realty in Lubbock. Blake Truett and Bill Young will lead the new office, which will serve the greater West Texas area. The branch will offer services in brokerage, property management, tenant representation, investment sales, development consulting and real estate advisory.
PLANO, TEXAS — Reata Pharmaceuticals has signed a 121,903-square-foot office sublease at 5320 Legacy Drive in Plano. Mike Wyatt, Maureen Kelly Cooper, Robbie Baty and Travis Boothe of Cushman & Wakefield represented the sublandlord, Denbury Onshore LLC, in the lease negotiations. Jeff Ellerman and John Ellerman of CBRE represented the subtenant.
It’s no secret that Austin has exploded with jobs and people over the last 10 years, and evidence of the growth has perhaps been most visible in the asking rents for office space. Rental rates in Austin’s most sought-after neighborhoods have essentially doubled since 2010, when major tech firms really began eyeing the state capital for its pro-business climate and supply of educated workers, as well as its high quality of living. Today, we see full-service office rates well above $50 per square foot in the hottest submarkets. According to our data, the average full-service rent in downtown Austin typically ranges from $65 to $69 per square foot. Submarkets like The Domain and East Austin command rates that typically average about $55 and $50 per square foot, respectively, on a full-service basis. These rates include operating expenses which can be between $15 to $25 per foot depending on location, mainly due to property tax increases found in these higher density areas of Austin. While these rates appear to be a smaller issue for the tech giants that drive significant growth among office-using industries in Austin, the rapid rate of appreciation is unquestionably pricing out some users that also need to …