DALLAS — Holt Lunsford Commercial has negotiated a 77,415-square-foot industrial lease renewal at 631-641 W. Mockingbird Lane in Dallas. According to LoopNet Inc., the property was built in 1980, spans 133,000 square feet and features 26-foot clear heights. Canon Shoults of Holt Lunsford represented the landlord, Boston-based TA Realty, in the lease negotiations. Craig Jones and Michael Haggar of JLL represented the tenant, Dakota Premium Hardwood.
PLANO, TEXAS — Fun Movie Grill, an entertainment concept that combines food, bowling, movies and games, will open a 70,000-square-foot venue in Plano. The eight-screen location will be part of Mustang Square, a 36-acre mixed-use development that will include 90,000 square feet of office space, hotels, residential villas and townhomes and a public plaza. Dan Avnery and Stewart Korte of NAI Robert Lynn represented the tenant and the landlord, Thakkar Developers, which broke ground on Phase I of the project in October, in the lease negotiations. The venue, which is scheduled to open in 2020, will be Fun Movie Grill’s fourth entertainment center in the metroplex.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has broken ground on its new $1 billion, 3 million-square-foot office campus in Austin. The 133-acre property will initially house 5,000 employees, with the capacity to grow to 15,000. It is expected to open in 2022. Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple is steadily growing in Austin with approximately 7,000 employees in the city — more than a 50 percent increase in the past five years alone. Plans for the campus were first announced in December 2018. “With the construction of our new campus in Austin now underway, Apple is deepening our close bond with the city and the talented and diverse workforce that calls it home,” says CEO Tim Cook. The company has partnered with Austin-based Bartlett Tree Experts to preserve and increase the diversity of native trees on the new campus. Additionally, the site is designed to maximize green space, with landscaping covering more than 60 percent of the project, including a 50-acre nature and wildlife preserve that will be open to the public. Like all Apple facilities, the Austin campus will run on 100 percent renewable energy, including solar power generated on site. The groundbreaking coincides with the company’s announcement that it is preparing …
HOUSTON — Keener Investments has acquired two multifamily assets totaling 378 units in North Houston. Both the 266-unit Mira Bella Apartments and the 112-unit San Martin Apartments were built in 1982 and offer amenities such as pools and fitness centers. Mira Bella also features a playground, and San Martin features a business center. The new ownership will implement a value-add program and manage the properties moving forward.
TEMPLE, TEXAS — Steele Properties, a Denver-based investment firm specializing in affordable housing, has purchased Wayman Manor, a 160-unit Section 8 affordable housing complex located in the central Texas city of Temple. Steele Properties will implement a capital improvement program that will upgrade roofs, HVAC systems and both indoor and outdoor amenity spaces. Monroe Group Ltd., Steele’s sister company, will oversee property management. Wayman Manor was built in 1971.
DALLAS — Forefront Living has unveiled plans for a 112-unit residential building at Presbyterian Village North, a nonprofit continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Dallas. The groundbreaking of the new building, which will be named The Hawthorne, is scheduled for spring 2020. Units will range from 912 to 1,633 square feet. The project also includes renovations to existing parts of the community.
HOWE, TEXAS — Dougherty Mortgage LLC has arranged an undisclosed amount of Fannie Mae financing for the acquisition of Westwood Manor Apartments, a 100-unit multifamily community in Howe, located north of Dallas near the Oklahoma border. The loan, which carried a 10-year term and a 30-year amortization schedule, was arranged through a partnership with Old Capital Lending for the borrower, Westwood Manor Apartments LLC.
DALLAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Vernazza, a 100-unit apartment community in Dallas. Al Silva and Ford Braly of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a locally based private investor, in the transaction. The Dallas-based buyer plans to upgrade the property’s unit interiors and exteriors.
As we enter the fourth quarter, Houston’s office market remains sluggish due primarily to uncertainty in the energy industry. With the price of West Texas Intermediate crude fluctuating between $45 and $60 per barrel, the market has seen minimal oil company expansions. With the pricing outlook remaining on a bleak to flat trajectory, little growth in office occupancy is expected in the next 18 to 24 months. The cycle favors tenants, now and for the foreseeable future. Should energy pricing return to higher levels, there will undoubtedly be higher occupancy through positive absorption, making the next six months an ideal time to lock in rental rates and construction/build-out costs for the next five to seven years. Through the third quarter of 2019, Houston has seen 217,000 square feet of overall net absorption, including sublease space returning to the direct market. The bright spots are new Class A downtown properties like Bank of America Tower, 609 Main and Texas Tower, whose current and future tenants have demonstrated their willingness to pay the higher base rates and operating expenses associated with new development. Companies are using office space more efficiently due to technological advances and transformations in mobility and are demanding more …
HOUSTON — Houston-based DC Partners has broken ground on The Allen, a six-acre mixed-use project located near Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston. The development will include a 99-unit condominium building, a Thompson-branded luxury hotel, an office building and retail and restaurant spaces. The grand opening of The Allen is slated for the first quarter of 2021, though the hotel is not scheduled to be complete until 2023. DC Partners is developing the project in partnership with Tianqing Real Estate Development and Westmont Hospitality Group.