HOUSTON — CBRE has negotiated a 217,800-square-foot industrial lease at 2200 Lauder Road in north Houston. The property was built in 1984 and features 24-foot clear heights. Glynn Mireles of CBRE represented the tenant, concrete supplier Formwork Services & Supply LP, in the lease negotiations. Carlton Anderson of CBRE represented the landlord, Allied Stone Inc.
Chad Thomas Hagwood, senior managing director and regional manager for the Southeast at Hunt Real Estate Capital, closes loans across the nation and sees opportunities in multiple sectors in 2019. While multifamily is still a standout, his scope extends beyond the industry buzzwords common today. Do you think refinancing activity will be as robust as it’s been in the recent past? Hagwood: There is no doubt refinancing will remain very active in 2019. Treasury yields have subsided from north of 3 percent and spreads are still extremely attractive. Many owners intend to hold their properties as opposed to selling. They realize they will have to pay top dollar to find a replacement property, or shell out a portion of their gains to Uncle Sam. It makes a great deal of sense to refinance and cash out versus sell, in many circumstances. What has been Hunt’s most popular loan product as of late? Hagwood: Both the 10- and 12-year fixed-rate conventional products with maximum IO [interest only] have been extremely popular with Hunt’s customers. In my opinion, the level of fixed-rate conventional business will continue to grow well into 2019 and beyond here at Hunt. The fixed-rate offering — compared with adjustable and floating …
HOUSTON — Hines will develop The Preston, a 46-story residential tower in downtown Houston that will feature 373 for-rent residences and 6,800 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space. The property will be situated near multiple public transit lines and adjacent to Hines’ 1 million-square-foot office project at 800 Texas Ave. Amenities will include a pool, cabanas, yoga lawn, fitness center, co-working office space and multiple social lounges with coffee bars. The project team includes design architect Munoz + Albin, landscape architect TBG, interior architect Ragni Studio and general contractor Harvey Builders. Construction is slated to begin in March and wrap up during the third quarter of 2022.
HOUSTON — Wood Partners, a local multifamily development and management firm, has broken ground on Alta Washington Avenue, a 204-unit apartment community in Houston. The property will be located near several employment hubs, including the CBD and Greenway Plaza, and will offer one- and two-bedroom floorplans. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center, outdoor grilling areas, game room, business center, dog park and sky lounge. Alta Washington Avenue is expected to open in winter 2020.
KATY, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of West Little York Office Plaza, a 61,500-square-foot business park located in the western Houston suburb of Katy. Built in 2015 on 3.7 acres, the property was 87 percent leased at the time of sale. Nate Newman and Logan Kelly of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a local developer, in the transaction. Newman also procured the buyer, a limited liability company. Both parties requested anonymity. The sales price was also undisclosed.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Punch Bowl Social, an entertainment concept that centers on artisanal food and beverages and parlor-style entertainment, will open a 23,038-square-foot venue in the Scarbrough Building, a historic office property in downtown Austin. Britt Morrison and Brett Maze of Weitzman represented the landlord in the lease negotiations. Perren Gasc with DBA Commercial Real Estate LLC and Dan Nesson of Denver-based True North represented Punch Bowl Social. The opening is scheduled for the third quarter of 2019.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — KRS Realty Advisors has begun a 12,000-square-foot retail and office renovation project within Fort Worth’s historic stockyards district. The first building features 7,000 square feet of divisible space and can accommodate a drive-thru or patio seating for a restaurant user. The second building will offer 4,970 square feet in an open concept complete with mezzanine space and ample parking. Stream Realty Partners will handle leasing of the project.
CHICAGO — Net absorption in office markets across the United States exceeded new construction in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to Cushman & Wakefield. This enabled the national office vacancy rate to drop to 13.2 percent. Nationwide absorption during the fourth quarter totaled 20 million square feet and marked the 33rd consecutive quarter of positive absorption since 2010. The total volume of space under construction increased slightly to 114.2 million square feet in the fourth quarter, up from 113.2 million in the third quarter. A total of 13.7 million square feet of new office projects delivered in the fourth quarter, bringing the total for 2018 deliveries to 52.7 million square feet, the second-highest amount of new space completed since 2010. Relative to inventory, the markets with the highest construction figures are San Mateo, Calif.; Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; Seattle; and Midtown Manhattan. On the west side Office markets in the Western United States performed the strongest in 2018 and accounted for 22.6 million square feet of net absorption, the highest volume since 2015. The lowest vacancy rates were seen in tech-driven markets like Seattle (6.2 percent vacancy) and San Francisco (6.4 percent). According to Cushman & Wakefield, the western …
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Albany Road Real Estate Partners, a Boston-based investment firm, has acquired Centerpoint I, II and III, a portfolio of three office properties totaling 285,000 square feet in Arlington. The property was 94 percent leased at the time of sale, with the North Central Texas Council of Governments accounting for more than half the occupancy. Creighton Stark and Chris Boyd of Colliers International represented the seller, a German investment firm, in the transaction. Other terms of sale were not disclosed.
DALLAS — The Trammell and Margaret Crow family has donated the entire collection of the Trammell and Margaret Crow Museum of Asian Art to The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). The museum, which recently underwent a 5,000-square-foot expansion, is located at 2010 Flora St. within the Trammell Crow Center in the city’s Arts District. Following decades of collecting art from Asian countries, the Crow family established the Asian arts museum in 1998. The museum has a long-term lease at the building with landlord JP Morgan Chase, and UTD plans to continue operating the museum at its current location. In addition to the downtown location, the Crow family also donated $23 million of support funding for the university to establish a second museum on UTD’s Richardson campus. Together, the two museums will be known as the Trammell and Margaret Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas. The museum features more than 1,000 ancient and contemporary works from Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, Tibet and Vietnam. The collection also includes a library of over 12,000 books, catalogs and journals. The museum is free of admission.