COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — KWA Construction has begun construction on Cherry Street Apartments, a 200-bed student housing complex in College Station’s entertainment district known as Northgate. Addison-based real estate investors Seneca Investments selected KWA Construction to build the 108,005-square-foot project, which was designed by NTS Architects & Planners. The project is expected to open in summer 2016. Formed in 1996, Seneca Investments is a privately owned real estate investment company with more than 60 years of combined experience in commercial real estate development. When complete next summer, Cherry Street Apartments will house up to 200 students and faculty. Located at 200 Cherry Street, the one- and two-bedroom apartment community will feature a swimming pool with lounges, outdoor grilling area, a fire pit and an outdoor theater. Additionally, the community grounds will include game and exercise rooms as well as a parking garage.
Texas
HOUSTON — GSI has renewed its lease of 16,440 square feet at the Norfolk Tower building located at 2211 Norfolk St. in Houston. Griffin Jaggard and Terri Torregrossa of Moody Rambin represented the building’s owner, The Realty Associates Fund IX, in negotiations. Don King with Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant.
TOMBALL, TEXAS — Colliers International has arranged sale of a 17.4-acre tract of land at the southwest corner of Hufsmith-Kohrville and Spell roads in Tomball for the relocation and consolidation of Packers Plus Energy Services Inc.’s Houston-based operations to a single campus. The $21 million project, the first for the Tomball Business and Technology Park, will be constructed in phases and consist of a 50,000-square-foot research and development center, a 237,000-square-foot manufacturing building and a multi-story, 40,000-square-foot corporate office building. The seller was Tomball Economic Development Corp. Tom Condon Jr. of The Woodlands office of Colliers International represented the seller. Brandi McDonald of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the buyer. Jane Matthews with Stewart Title Tomball coordinated the closing. Packers Plus is an international oil and gas service company. The new facility in Tomball is expected to create 353 new full-time jobs in Tomball, with 172 of the jobs being created in the first five years of operation.
DALLAS, TEXAS — Brian Gramlich of BMC Capital’s Dallas office has arranged a $924,000 purchase loan for a 16-unit apartment property located in Dallas. The five-year loan includes a 3.9 percent interest rate and a 30-year amortization schedule. The loan was arranged through one of BMC Capital’s correspondent bank relationships.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — HREC Investment Advisors has arranged the sale of the 260-guestroom Embassy Suites Austin Central. SBCO-BREI Austin Operating Co. LLC is the buyer. Bill Murney of HREC Investment Advisors’ Phoenix office, along with Scott Stephens of the firm’s Tampa office, represented FelCor Lodging Trust during the transaction. The property is located at the intersection of I-35 and U.S. 290, approximately 4.5 miles from downtown Austin.
PLANO, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Comfort Suites Plano/Dallas, a 76-room hospitality property located in Plano. Pravin Boteju, Andrew Frosch, Rahul Bijlani and Michael Yu of Marcus & Millichap’s Houston office marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. Yu, Bijlani and Frosch also sourced the buyer, a private investor. Comfort Suites Plano/Dallas is located at 2301 E. President George Bush Highway.
SAN ANTONIO — Stream Realty Partners has brokered a new lease for 10,297 square feet at Interwest Business Park located in Northwest San Antonio. Jason Schnittger and Kevin Cosgrove of Stream represented the landlord, G&I VII Interwest Business LP, in the transaction. Green Star Inc. of San Antonio signed the new lease. Interwest Business Park is located at 6800 Alamo Downs Parkway offering access to Loop 410. The four-building, multi-tenant office/flex property spans approximately 219,244 square feet. Hank Pruitt of Pruitt Realty represented the tenant in the deal.
LEANDER, TEXAS — Dougherty Mortgage LLC has secured a $7.7 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Merritt Legacy Apartments, a 208-unit multifamily affordable housing property located in Leander. The 15-year loan includes a 35-year amortization schedule and was arranged by Dougherty’s Dallas office. Amenities include Energy Star appliances, washer and dryer connections, large closets and private patios or balconies with extra storage. Property features include a pet-friendly environment with pet stations, a pet park, library, fitness center, covered parking, swimming pool, barbecue grills and picnic tables.
CROSS ROADS, TEXAS — HFF has arranged the sale of two multi-tenant buildings totaling 24,000 square feet that are part of Village at Cross Roads shopping center in the Dallas suburb of Cross Roads. HFF arranged the sale of the property on behalf of the seller, Lovett Commercial. The assets consist of two outparcels located at the corner of U.S. Highway 380 and FM 424. The 100 percent-leased outparcels are home to Mattress Firm, Starbucks, UPS, Supercuts, Sally Beauty Supply, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and T-Mobile. The asset is shadow-anchored by an 185,900-square-foot Walmart Supercenter. Ryan West, Matt Berry and Robbie Kilcrease led the HFF investment sales team representing the seller.
The Dallas/Fort Worth industrial market is one of the biggest and most strategically important in North America. With an inventory of more than 500 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space, the DFW industrial market serves a metro area of 6.8 million people and a larger region that stretches to Mexico. More than 70 percent of goods exported to Mexico roll through the metro area, and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been a huge driver of those exports. These days, the industrial market is buoyed by a local economy that is outpacing most of the nation’s major metros. In March, Dallas/Fort Worth registered an unemployment rate of 4 percent, compared to 5.9 percent in Atlanta, 6 percent in New York, 6.4 percent in Chicago and 6.6 percent in Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The GDP also grew by a healthy 2.2 percent in 2014. Dallas/Fort Worth’s economic momentum has heightened demand for industrial space. The first quarter of 2015 marked the 18th consecutive quarter of positive absorption, according to CBRE. The DFW industrial market has been among the top five markets in absorption over the past several years, and this impressive …