Strong job and household growth across the San Antonio metro will boost demand for apartments this year, tightening vacancy and pushing rents higher. Apartment developers are preparing to build more units in the upcoming quarters thanks to the formation of new households throughout the metro. However, the development of new rental housing will not jeopardize the operations of existing properties and will keep the investors very active in the coming months. Job creation in the metro is supported by the Eagle Ford Shale, the primary driver of a booming oil industry in South Texas. Exploration and extraction are creating thousands of jobs and bringing billions of dollars to Bexar County. Overall, the economic impact of the Eagle Ford Shale will continue to increase as Kinder Morgan expands its crude and condensate pipeline 31 miles into Karnes County. In addition, plans call for a 400-acre rail park in the South submarket to meet heightened demand for rail-based logistics and warehousing related to Eagle Ford Shale oil production. As employment opportunities grow, the metro’s population will grow 2 percent by the end of 2013, two times the U.S. population growth rate. Of the roughly 46,000 new residents projected this year, approximately one-quarter …
Texas
HOUSTON — MetLife Inc. has arranged and provided a $161.5 million loan for the previously reported acquisition of Houston’s Marathon Oil Tower by CBRE Strategic Partners U.S. Value 6, a fund sponsored by CBRE Global Investors. The property, located at 5555 San Felipe St. in the Galleria submarket, is a Class A office asset totaling 41 stories and 1.2 million square feet. Hanover Real Estate Partners sold the building, which is LEED Silver certified. Clint Culp and John Hall of MetLife Real Estate Investors originated the loan.
HOUSTON — Steadfast Income REIT Inc. has acquired a six-property multifamily portfolio in Houston totaling 1,692 apartments. The purchased properties include Villas at Huffmeister, Waterford Place at Riata Ranch, Carrington Place and Carrington Park in the suburb of Cypress; Carrington at Champion Forest in the Champions submarket; and Villas of Kingwood in the master-planned community of Kingwood. The complexes feature similar amenities, including a clubhouse, swimming pool, business center and fitness center. A joint venture between Lane Co. and Lubert-Adler is the seller. Steadfast represented itself in the transaction.
SAN ANTONIO — Developer Franklin Cos. and architect three: living architecture will break ground in February 2014 on Franklin Park, a new $30 million, 217-unit seniors housing facility in San Antonio’s Alamo Heights neighborhood. The property will total 315,000 square feet and include 115 independent living units, 62 assisted living units and 40 memory care units, as well as a coffee house and art gallery open to the public. Faulkner Design Group is serving as interior designer on the project, and Mesa is working as landscape architect.
SAN MARCOS, TEXAS — Mensor Corp., a manufacturer of pressure and temperature calibration devices, has started construction on a new 45,000-square-foot flex facility in San Marcos, a northeast suburb of San Antonio. The $7.5 million building has broken ground next to the company’s existing 26,000-square-foot facility, which may be demolished following completion of the new development. The Greater San Marcos Partnership, a public-private partnership focused on job creation and increased investment in the surrounding area, provided business expansion services for Mensor including site selection, demographic and tax analysis, as well as incentives. Mensor expects the new facility to open in the fall of 2014.
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — A joint venture of Houston-based Asset Plus Cos. and Baltimore-based Alex Brown Realty Inc. has sold Crossing Place Apartments, a 384-bed student housing facility at Texas A&M University in College Station. The complex, which is fully leased for the 2013-2014 school year, is located approximately one mile from campus at 400 Southwest Parkway. Seattle-based Horizon Realty Advisors LLC purchased the property, which underwent capital improvements under the previous owner. HFF represented the seller in the transaction.
PLANO, TEXAS — CBRE has brokered the sale of The Encore, a 240-unit apartment community in Plano. The Class A property, located at 4700 Tribeca Lane, offers one- and two-bedroom floorplans and was 95 percent leased at the time of the sale. Amenities include a clubhouse, business center, pool and fitness studio. Charles Cirar, Ryan Reid and Jeremy Faltys of CBRE represented the seller, Zale/Corson Group, which developed the property in 2012.
BEDFORD, TEXAS — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a multifamily brokerage division of Marcus & Millichap, has brokered the sale of The Creek on Park Place, a 220-unit apartment complex. Located at 2001 Park Place Blvd. in Bedford, a suburb between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, the community offers one- and two-bedroom apartments plus amenities such as a swimming pool, dog park, playground, fitness center and laundry facility. The property also offers new interior finishes and proximity to the interchange of Highway 121 and Highway 183, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital and Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport. Will Balthrope and Drew Kile of IPA and Nick Fluellen and Bard Hoover of Marcus & Millichap represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer was a 1031 tax-deferred exchange investor based on the West Coast.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and Havertys will open locations at Alliance Town Center, the 1 million-square-foot retail component of the master-planned AllianceTexas community in Fort Worth. Construction of the 35,000-square-foot Havertys is set to begin in December, while the 15,000-square-foot DSW will break ground in later this year or early 2014. Both stores are scheduled to open Labor Day weekend of 2014, joining other retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods, JCPenney, Best Buy, Kroger Marketplace and PetSmart. Alliance Town Center is a joint venture of developers Trademark Property Co. and Hillwood Investment Properties.
DALLAS — KBS Realty Advisors has acquired Highland Park Place, a 17-story, 164,011-square-foot office tower in the Preston Center submarket of Dallas for $31.4 million. The Class A building, located at 4514 Cole Ave., was 84 percent occupied at the time of the sale. Gary Carr, John Alvarado and Eric Mackey of CBRE represented the seller, Heitman. Newport Beach, Calif.-based KBS and its affiliated companies now own 13 office properties in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex totaling more than 4.4 million square feet. Earlier this year, two office properties totaling nearly 750,000 square feet in the Preston Center submarket — Preston Commons and Sterling Plaza — were purchased by KBS REIT III.