FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS — Virgata Property Co. has announced several new tenant openings at Virgata Commons, the company’s 14-acre mixed-use development in Friendswood, located south of Houston. Orangetheory Fitness and MOD Pizza recently opened their doors, while Chipotle Mexican Grill and Jersey Mike’s are slated to open in mid-November. A space for Chick-fil-A is under construction and is expected to be complete by early 2020.
SAN ANTONIO — Greysteel has arranged a loan of an undisclosed amount for the refinancing of the 64-room La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham San Antonio, located just off Interstate 10 in the Alamo City. The hotel features a pool, fitness center and a business center. Mitt Patel and Daniel Hartnett of Greysteel arranged the long-term, fixed-rate financing on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS — Dallas-based design-build firm ARCO/Murray has completed a 650-unit self-storage facility in Southlake, a northern suburb of Fort Worth. The three-story facility spans 104,000 square feet and includes a 1,300-square-foot office space and an interior loading area. The developer was The Jenkins Organization, a self-storage firm based in Houston.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — High Street Residential, the multifamily development arm of Trammell Crow Co., and Principal Real Estate Investors have sold Crestview Commons, a 353-unit apartment community in Austin. The property features one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging in size from 642 to 1,405 square feet. Amenities include a pool, outdoor grilling areas, multiple courtyard spaces, a fitness center, entertainment kitchen and a resident lounge. Charles Cirar, Michael Wardlaw and Colin Cannata of CBRE brokered the deal on behalf of the sellers. The buyer was Verbena Road Holdings.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — CSA Realty Group has negotiated the sale of West Anderson Plaza, a 117,000-square-foot shopping center in north Austin. Tenants at the property include restaurants Bartlett’s, Hopdoddy Burger Bar and Jason’s Deli, as well as specialty retailers Precision Camera, Sun & Ski and Terra Toys. Grady Field and Andrew Creixell of CSA Realty Group represented the sellers in the transaction. Carr Development Inc. represented the buyers. Both sides requested anonymity.
GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS — The Multifamily Group, a Dallas-based firm, has arranged the sale of Cottonwood Park, a 170-unit community in Grand Prairie, roughly midway between Dallas and Fort Worth. The Class B community was built in 1981 and offers a pool, fitness center, clubhouse and onsite laundry facilities. Chibuzor Nnaji Jr. of The Multifamily Group represented the seller and procured the buyer, both of which requested anonymity, in the transaction.
LANCASTER, TEXAS — Lee & Associates has negotiated a 92,710-square-foot industrial lease at Park 20/35 in Lancaster, a southern suburb of Dallas. Becky Thompson of Lee & Associates represented the tenant, Motors & Armatures Inc., an HVAC component manufacturer, in the lease negotiations. Kacy Jones, John Hendricks and Trapper Graff of CBRE represented the landlord, CalSTRS.
The phenomenal growth taking place in Austin and San Antonio has shown little sign of slowing over the past several years. These two mid-size Texas cities are developing quickly and continue to undergo rapid change. Both are ranked in the top 10 fastest-growing metro areas in the country and both have unemployment levels at near-record lows. Tenant Profiles The industries driving the economy in these two central Texas cities are quite different. Each has strong tourism sectors, but that is where the similarities end. In Austin, the tech industry, government, life sciences and creative arts are keeping the market extremely active. Defense, healthcare, oil and gas and the burgeoning markets of cybersecurity and biotech are driving absorption in San Antonio. New tenants are coming to San Antonio to take advantage of lower costs and an abundant workforce — a positive trend that reflects strong fundamentals and viability. As for Austin, Fortune 500 companies continue to pour into the city not only to capitalize on the lower cost of doing business in Texas, but also to recruit and lure a highly educated workforce. Austin’s third-consecutive gold medal ranking as the “Best Place to Live” by U.S. News & World Report makes …
DALLAS — Canada-based Granite Real Estate Investment Trust has acquired a 2.3 million-square-foot industrial facility situated on 101 acres at 1301 Chalk Hill Road in west Dallas that is fully leased for an initial lease term of 20 years. The Dallas Morning News reports that the tenant is Amazon. Features of the building, which is located about seven miles west of downtown, include 41-foot clear heights, 2,500 auto parking spaces and 300 trailer parking spaces. Granite REIT acquired the property as part of a $296 million acquisition package that also included large-scale industrial facilities in Georgia and Indiana.
SAN ANTONIO — Locally based developer Koontz Corp. has completed Foster Ridge Distribution Center, a 327,000-square-foot industrial project in northeast San Antonio. The property is situated on 21 acres near a distribution center leased to Dollar General and the 871-acre site that will eventually house H-E-B’s distribution facilities. Foster Ridge Distribution Center is a cross-dock building that features 32-foot clear heights, 75 dock-high overhead doors, 130-foot truck courts and an ESFR sprinkler system. Houston-based Powers Brown served as the architect for the project, and San Antonio-based R.C. Page was the general contractor.