THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — The Howard Hughes Corporation (NYSE: HHC) has signed Front Burner Restaurants to an 8,000-square-foot lease for a new location of Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar at Hughes Landing in The Woodlands. This first Houston location of the “farm-to-fork, garden-to-glass” eatery is scheduled to open in early 2015 and is the second restaurant to sign a lease at Hughes Landing, a 66-acre mixed-use development of HHC subsidiary The Woodlands Development Company. Jack Breard and Michael Miller of United Commercial Realty represented Front Burner in the negotiations, while Rip Reynolds of HHC represented Woodlands Development.
Texas
FREEPORT, TEXAS — Brennan Investment Group LLC, a private real estate investment firm, has acquired the 46,401-square-foot industrial property at 6711 Freeway 332 in Freeport. Dow Chemical occupies the building. Tom Lynch and Paul Segreto of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. Brennan is actively pursuing similar industrial assets in Los Angeles, Florida, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, Atlanta and the Midwest in addition to Texas.
LONGVIEW, TEXAS — Portfolio Development has broken ground on Paladin Luxury Apartments, a $12 million, 220-unit multifamily community on Hawkins Parkway in Longview, approximately 43 miles west of the Texas state border with Louisiana. The eight-building, garden-style complex will be situated directly behind the Regal Stadium 14 movie theater and in close proximity to U.S. 259. Amenities will include a fitness center, pool and dog park, and some units will include attached garages, built-in bookshelves and wine racks. BBL Builders is overseeing construction of the project.
HOUSTON — Holt Lunsford Commercial has arranged a lease renewal for the 369,772-square-foot Houston home of United DC Inc. The industrial facility, located at 8921-8933 and 8937-8947 Market St., is in close proximity to the interchange of Interstate 10 and Interstate 610, approximately 7 miles east of downtown. Jason Dillee and John Kruse of Holt Lunsford represented the landlord, The Realty Associates Fund IX LP, in the negotiations. United DC is the warehousing arm of packaging business United Companies.
DALLAS — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the renewal of FMI Recycling’s lease of 68,000 square feet at 2929 Glenfield Ave., approximately eight miles southwest of the heart of downtown Dallas. FMI, which specializes in metals and electronics recycling, has occupied space in the multi-tenant industrial property for five years. Mark Collins, Dean Collins and Kirk Collins of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the negotiations. Matt Elliot of NAI Robert Lynn represented the landlord, Glenfield LLC.
HOUSTON — Cascade Investment, a privately held investment company controlled by Bill Gates, has purchased the Four Seasons Hotel Houston from private real estate investment fund Maritz, Wolff & Co. Located at 1300 Lamar Street in the city’s central business district, the property offers 404 rooms, 64 rental apartments and amenities including a swimming pool and fitness facility. Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts will continue to manage the hotel.
VICTORIA, TEXAS — Vibra Healthcare LLC has purchased two long-term acute care hospitals, including the former Kindred Hospital Victoria approximately 110 miles southeast of San Antonio, from Kindred Healthcare for $20.7 million. The facility will now be operated by Camp Hill, Pa.-based Post Acute Medical, an affiliate of Vibra. The other hospital acquired in this transaction was located in Milwaukee. Vibra purchased 14 other Kindred Healthcare hospitals earlier this month for $168.5 million.
THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — MIG Real Estate, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based real estate investment company, has acquired Pine Creek Ranch, a 240-unit apartment community in The Woodlands. Located at 3600 College Park Drive, the property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts plus a swimming pool, fitness center, barbecue area, billiards room and more. David Oelfke of ARA Real Estate Investment Services represented the seller, the name of which was not disclosed, in the transaction. Greystar will manage Pine Creek Ranch on behalf of MIG, which represented itself in the deal and has now acquired three Texas multifamily assets since mid-2012.
DALLAS AND FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS — Texas land developer and manager Billingsley Co. will move forward by the end of the year with a 340,000-square-foot speculative distribution center at its 225-acre master-planned Mercer Business Park. The company officially announced its intent to build the facility after receiving light industrial zoning for 80 acres of the development. This will be the first building at the park, which is located at the northwest corner of IH 635 and IH 35E and stretches from Dallas into the neighboring city of Farmers Branch. Completion of the distribution center is slated for summer 2014.
LEAGUE CITY, TEXAS — HFF has brokered the sale of League City Towne Center, a 194,736-square-foot shopping center in League City, a suburb of Houston approximately 25 miles southeast of downtown. The property was fully leased at the time of sale to tenants including Ross Dress for Less, TJ Maxx and PetSmart. Completed in 2008, the center is located at the intersection of Interstate 45 and FM 646. Ryan West and Rusty Tamlyn led the HFF team that represented the seller, Property Commerce. Excel Trust Inc. (NYSE: EXL), a REIT primarily targeting retail assets, purchased League City Towne Center for an undisclosed amount.