NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS — Texas-based private equity firm SPI Advisory has acquired Hawthorne Riverside, a 164-unit multifamily complex in New Braunfels, a northwestern suburb of San Antonio. Built in 1995, the property offers one- and two-bedroom units and amenities such as a pool, fitness center, volleyball court, cybercafé, pet park, resident clubhouse, business center and outdoor grilling and dining stations. SPI Advisory plans to implement a value-add program and rebrand the property as Riverbend Apartments. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
HUMBLE, TEXAS — New York City-based Lument has provided a $13.4 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of The Fordham at Eagle Springs, a 137-unit seniors housing complex in Humble, a northern suburb of Houston. The six-building, age-restricted community was built in 2020 within the Eagle Springs master-planned development and offers a pool, salon and a coffee bar. Tom Dixon of Lument originated the financing, which was structured with a 10-year term (four years of which are interest-only), fixed interest rate and a 30-year amortization schedule. The borrower was not disclosed.
DALLAS — Tower Street Insurance has signed a 19,399-square-foot office lease expansion at Providence Towers, a 524,143-square-foot complex in North Dallas. The tenant is expanding from 5,000 to 24,399 square feet at the property, which is currently undergoing a multimillion-dollar capital improvement program. Kim Brooks, Justin Miller, Scott Walker and Laney Delin of Transwestern represented the landlord, California-based investment firm KBS, in the lease negotiations. Michael Griffin of Transwestern represented the tenant.
HOUSTON — Midway has begun leasing The Laura, a 359-unit multifamily project that is part of the Houston-based developer’s initial phase of the 150-acre East River development in Houston’s Historic Fifth Ward. Designed by Munoz + Albin with EDI International as the architect of record, The Laura features studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments that range in size from 431 to 1,432 square feet. Amenities include a fitness center, dog park, pool, grilling stations, outdoor yoga space and a lawn for games and passive recreation. OHT Partners served as the general contractor for the project. The first move-ins will begin in December. Phase I of East River also includes 250,000 square feet of office space and 110,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Rents start at $1,600 per month for a studio.
FORNEY, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Bin 741 Storage, a 490-unit self-storage facility located in the eastern Dallas suburb of Forney. The facility was built in 2017 and spans 56,900 net rentable square feet. Danny Cunningham and Brandon Karr of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a locally based family partnership that originally built the property, in the transaction. The duo also procured the buyer, a Houston-based investment firm.
PLANO, TEXAS — Minnesota-based investment firm Founders Properties has sold a 114,000-square-foot industrial building located at 780 Shiloh Road in Plano. The building was constructed in 2001, renovated in 2007 and was fully leased at the time of sale to a single unnamed tenant. Randy Baird, Jonathan Bryan, Ryan Thornton, Nathan Wynne and Eliza Bachhuber of CBRE represented Founders Properties in the transaction. The buyer was an undisclosed, California-based private investor.
KATY, TEXAS — SRS Real Estate Partners has arranged the $14.6 million sale of a 55,000-square-foot retail building in the western Houston suburb of Katy that is triple-net-leased to Kohl’s. The seller, an undisclosed, institutional development group, is nearing completion of construction of the building, which sits on a 5.2-acre site. The lease term is 12 years. Matthew Mousavi and Patrick Luther of SRS represented the seller and procured the undisclosed out-of-state buyer, which acquired the asset via a 1031 exchange.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — CCRM Fertility has signed a 20,000-square-foot office lease at Uplands Corporate Center in southwest Austin. The space spans about half of the third floor of the 124,081-square-foot Uplands II building. Mark Harris and Elizabeth Thompson of JLL represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Matt Frizzell and Kevin Granger of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, Drawbridge Realty.
No one in the multifamily sector needs a lecture on the difficulty of financing projects and deals these days. But, when there are challenges in the market, attention to detail and alternative financing can result in a better chance of finding solutions. Considering life insurance companies as viable investors is one example. Insurers often can provide needed liquidity as they search for yield, especially in the multifamily world. Multifamily fell to the same forces that have affected every other commercial real estate (CRE) class. After a buildup of easy money over more than a decade, the zero-interest rate policy in response to the pandemic collapse set asset investment on fire. Prices soared, opportunities were widespread and big leverage was in. “Starting in 2019/2020, you saw a lot of floating-rate bridge money,” says Susan Mello, executive vice president and group head of capital markets at Walker & Dunlop. But as loans came up for refinancing, quick and large Federal Reserve hikes of the benchmark federal funds rate kicked up loan costs everywhere and made penciling a deal difficult, if not impossible. “The rapid rise of interest rates put values in question across the board. That’s exacerbated by how much liquidity there …
GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS — Locally based investment firm S2 Capital has acquired Silverbrook, a 642-unit apartment complex located in the central metroplex city of Grand Prairie. According to Apartments.com, Silverbrook offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and amenities such as a pool, business center, fitness center, resident clubhouse, tennis court, volleyball court and outdoor grilling and dining stations. Danny Baker and William Hubbard of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Harry Krieger, also with CBRE, arranged acquisition financing through an undisclosed lender on behalf of S2 Capital.