DALLAS — 1400 Hi Line, a 23-story, 340,000-square-foot mixed-use project in downtown Dallas' design district, across from Victory Park, has broken ground. A joint venture between Houston-based PM Realty Group and the National Electrical Benefit Fund, a retirement account for electrical contractors, are developing the project, which will feature 314 residential units and 27,000 square feet of retail space. Scheduled for an opening date between mid to late 2012, the mixed-use design will include a state-of-the-art fitness center, and a rooftop pool lounge and club area. New York-based Broad Street Advisors has arranged equity and construction financing for 1400 Hi Line through U.S. Bank.
Texas
DALLAS — A 63,939-square-foot office and industrial property, located at 10031 Monroe Dr. in Dallas' Stemmons/Walnut Hill industrial submarket, has traded. Situated in Monroe Business Park, it is a multi-tenant, shallow-bay property with showroom, office and warehouse areas. Scott Ryan of Marcus & Millichap's Dallas office represented the seller, an unlisted partnership from Dallas. It was approximately 81 percent occupied at the time of the sale.
ATLANTA — Angelic Real Estate has closed the sale and leaseback of seven Aaron's retail locations, three in Texas, on behalf of a privately held institutional fund for $9.6 million. The properties were leased back to Aaron's for 15-year initial lease terms. Gabriel Silverstein and Louis D'Lando of Angelic Real Estate arranged the transaction directly with Atlanta-based Aaron's. The properties are located in Texas, Alabama, Ohio, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
HOUSTON — Satellite campus suites for the University Houston, the University of Houston-Downtown, Texas Southern University and Sam Houston State University have been completed at the former Hewlett Packard five-building, 1.2 million-square-foot office park at 20515 State Hwy. 249 in Houston. The satellite campuses, named University Center at University Park, were created for students within the Lone Star College System, a community college system that supports about 85,000 students, who wish to transition to a 4-year college without leaving home. The University of Houston-Downtown occupies a 25,000-square-foot campus suite within the former Hewlett Packard office park; the University of Houston, a 17,000-square-foot campus suite; Texas Southern University, a 12,500-square-foot campus suite; and Sam Houston State University, a 12,000-square-foot campus suite. Cadence McShane Construction Co. served as the project contractor, and Kirksey Architecture and VLK Architects provided architectural services.
FORT WORTH — Suncom Holdings LP, a mattress manufacturing company, has purchased a 179,407-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility in Centreport Industrial Park, located at 4250 Cambridge Dr. in Fort Worth, with intentions to expand from its current Dallas location. Holmes Davis of Binswanger represented the seller, Nestle Waters North America, while Craig Jones of NAI Robert Lynn represented Suncom Holdings LP.
LUFKIN — A 37,000-square-foot medical outpatient clinic building in Lufkin, which is 100 percent occupied by the GSA/Department of Veterans Affairs, has been sold to Pomona, N.Y.-based RJ Block Properties. Located on seven acres at 2216 N. John Redditt Dr., the property was built in 2009 and has a long-term, 20-year modified gross lease with the GSA/Department of Veterans Affairs. Brett Butler of Stan Johnson Co. represented both the buyer and the seller, Lufkin-based LD Lyndon Properties.
DALLAS — The 255,378-square-foot CompuCom world headquarters campus, located at 7171 Forest Ln. in Dallas near the intersection of Forest Lane and Central Expressway, has changed hands. W.P. Carey & Co.'s (NYSE:WPC) non-traded REIT affiliates, CPA®:14 and CPA®:15 have sold the property to Optima Ventures for an undisclosed price. The office property is situated on nearly 20 acres and includes an eight-story, 162,138-square-foot office building and a three-story, 93,240-square-foot data center facility. Both buildings are fully leased on a triple net basis to CompuCom, an IT outsourcing company. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) represented the seller.
AUSTIN — Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) has opened an office in Austin that focuses on multi-housing investment sales. Executive Managing Director Jody Thornton is overseeing HFF's Texas expansion from its Dallas office. Sean Sorrell, senior managing director, has joined HFF from Montecito Investment Co., where he was chief investment officer, and will run HFF's Austin office on location. Sorrell co-founded Montecito Property Co., which focused on acquiring multifamily rental property, renovating the properties and selling the units as condominiums. Prior to Montecito, Sorrell was a senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis.
HOUSTON — NAI Houston has acquired Campbell/English Commercial Brokerage Co., an independent brokerage company specializing in land brokerage services. Joel English and Scott Cowan, two of the company's producers, will be joining NAI Houston. Campbell/English Commercial Brokerage Co. was founded in 2005 by English, a veteran commercial real estate broker with experience at New Quest Properties and Henry S. Miller Commercial. The company has transacted more than $75 million in commercial property and presently has listings on property in excess of $120 million.
SAN MARCOS — A joint venture between URDANG, the real estate investment manager of BNY Mellon Asset Management, and Falcon Southwest has acquired The Palazzo, a 300-unit, Class A multifamily community in San Marcos. Located at 1011 Wonder World Dr., the property is visible from Interstate 35. The joint venture will focus on improving property operations, addressing deferred maintenance and implementing a moderate renovation program. URDANG made its portion of the acquisition through Urdang Value-Added Fund II L.P., a closed-end private real estate fund managed by Urdang Capital Management. The property was purchased from a private seller.