CONSTRUCTION'S SLIP 'N' SLIDE
WASHINGTON (Associated Press) – The Commerce Department reported a 2.1 percent drop last month in construction of new homes and apartments, the poorest performance since a 13.9 percent plunge in January.
The May decline reflected weakness in the South and West, which offset construction gains in the Northeast and Midwest. While small gains were made in April and March, construction is 24.2 percent below the level of a year ago.
Single-family home construction was down 3.4 percent last month while apartment construction rose by 3.1 percent.
Mortgage company Freddie Mac reported that interest on 30-year mortgages jumped to 6.74 percent last week, the highest level in 11 months.
Permit applications rebounded slightly last month, rising by 3 percent after plunging 7.1 percent the previous month.
Construction activity fell by 19.7 percent in the West and 1.6 percent in the South. Construction was up 15.7 percent in the Northeast and 15.5 percent in the Midwest.
DOTZOUR ON JIM LEHRER'S NEWSHOUR
COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Dr. Mark Dotzour, chief economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, will be interviewed tonight on PBS' NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
Ray Suarez will talk to Dotzour, Raphael Bostic of the University of Southern California and Donald Grimes of the University of Michigan about the national housing picture.
The 12-minute segment will begin at 6:38 p.m. Eastern, 5:38 p.m. Central.
MURDOCK NOMINATED FOR CENSUS BUREAU DIRECTOR
WASHINGTON (Austin American-Statesman) – President Bush has nominated Texas state demographer Dr. Steve Murdock to serve as director of the U.S. Census Bureau.
If confirmed, Murdock will replace University of Texas graduate and Waco native Louis Kincannon as the head of the agency that counts Americans and keeps track of statistics about them.
In addition to being chairman of the Department of Demography and Organization Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio's College of Public Policy, Murdock is a research fellow with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. He has served as the state demographer since 2001.
The next census — a major undertaking that often draws political fire because of its role in congressional reapportionment — will be in 2010.
INLAND BUYS MARKETPLACE
HOUSTON (globest.com) – Kimco Realty Corp. has sold Northwest Marketplace to Illinois-based Inland Real Estate Acquisitions.
According to an SEC filing, the just over 183,000-square-foot power center at 13706–13846 Northwest Fwy. was sold for $36.3 million. Kimco paid $26.3 million for the center in 2003, one year after it was completed by Trammell Crow Co.
Tenants in the 92 percent leased center include Ross Stores, Office Depot, PetSmart, Old Navy, Famous Footwear Stores, Pier 1 Imports, Panera Bread Co. and Chipotle Mexican Grill.
Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP represented Kimco. Inland was self-represented.
DEVELOPMENT BETWEEN CITIES
VALLEY VIEW (globest.com) – A Henry S. Miller Cos. (HSM) partnership, 35-V V Ltd., has purchased 64.5 acres at the northeast corner of Lone Oak Road.
With this purchase, HSM has assembled 2,000 acres featuring four miles of frontage along I-35, which will become a residential and freeway-oriented retail development.
The Cooke County land is 55 miles north of Dallas, between the Denton-Sanger trade area and Gainesville, near the Oklahoma border.
HSM Commercial represented the buying partnership and the seller, Micaela Mullins of Fort Worth.
BIG BUYS BURNES BUILDING
TAYLOR (businesswire.com) – Burnes Home Accents has sold a 321,600-square-foot, one-story building to Lenexa-Alden LLC, a subsidiary of Big Industrial.
Big Industrial, a Kansas-based specialized developer of surplus industrial properties, will remarket the 40-acre property at 1103 Carlos Parker Blvd. for sale or lease.
The industrial building has ceiling heights up to 40 feet, dock-high doors and 40,000 square feet of office space.
Burnes Home Accents, a subsidiary of C.R. Gibson Inc., headquartered in Nashville, designs and manufactures home décor products.
Binswanger, an international real estate company, represented the seller.
WILLOWIND, WILLOW OAKS SOLD
BRYAN (globest.com) – Massachusetts-based Commercial Capital Partners LLC has purchased two Class-C apartment complexes from WWK Ltd. of Houston.
The 248-unit Willowind Apartments at 2301 Broadmoor Dr. was developed between 1977 and 1982. It has one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 732 to 1,370 square feet. Monthly rent is $525 to $800. The 29-building complex is on more than three acres and is assessed at $1.8 million.
The 299-unit Willow Oaks Apartments at 3902 E. 29th St. was built between 1969 and 1971. The 62-building complex features a mix of studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 435 to 1,317 square feet. Monthly rent is $380 to $900. Willow Oaks is on more than 18 acres and is assessed at $7.9 million.
According to Jeff Patterson, vice president with Apartment Realty Advisors Secondary Markets Team, which represented the owner, occupancy for both properties was in the low 90s at the time of sale.
Commercial Capital Partners will make improvements and manage the property.
WELLNESS CENTER WORK BEGUN
ROUND ROCK (Austin Business Journal) – Kinsman Ventures LLC of Plano has begun work on a new 160,000-square-foot medical and professional office building near Seton Medical Center Williamson and Scott and White's new hospital.
Round Rock Wellness Center, on the southwest quadrant of University Boulevard and Sunrise Road, will include an ambulatory surgical center and diagnostic center. Office suites will range from 1,200 to 20,000 square feet. Completion is slated for spring 2008.
Dallas-based Corgan Architects designed the building, and MedicaVentures is handling leasing.
STAR CREEK PLANS MIXED-USE
ALLEN (rebusinessonline.com) – Star Creek of Dallas has purchased more than 34 acres at the southwest and southeast quadrants of SH 121 and Watters.
The company plans to use the property for retail and hotel development.
The Weitzman Group brokered the transaction for Star Creek.
SPIKING LAND PRICES
DENTON, COLLIN COUNTIES (Dallas Business Journal) – Despite a slowdown in housing development, land prices are reaching historic highs north of the Dallas North Tollway in Denton County.
The area is in the direct path of growth, with easier access coming with the extension of the tollway, which is set to grow to six lanes from Hwy. 121 to US 380 around September.
Parcels, largely agricultural, in far northern areas, are selling for $75,000 to even $99,000 an acre — almost triple the prices from a decade ago.
Pricing on commercial land is also spiking, said Andrew Beckman of Dallas-based Glacier Commercial Realty LP. Selling for $1 to $1.50 per square foot just a few years ago, tracts now average $5 per square foot.
In 1963, long-time broker Morris Orr sold land in Frisco for $275 per acre. In the early 1990s, it sold for $35,000 an acre. If it were available today, Orr says it would list for $75,000 or more.
Today, all types of buyers are flocking to the market, including institutional and public buyers. About 20 percent of buyers in Denton and Collin counties are buying through a 1031 exchange tax format.
The July 2007 issue of Tierra Grande will feature an article detailing rising Texas land prices.
HISTORIC ESPERSON BUILDINGS SOLD
HOUSTON (globest.com) – The Amstar Group and Cameron Management have sold the historic Esperson buildings to Seligman Western Enterprises Ltd., an affiliate of Detroit-based Seligman & Associates Inc.
The property includes the Niels Esperson Building at 808 Travis St., the Mellie Esperson Building at 815 Walker St. and a 600-space parking garage at 806 Rusk St. The nearly 600,000-square-foot landmark is assessed at $41.5 million.
The 27-story Italian Renaissance-style Niels Esperson building and garage were developed in 1927 by Mellie Esperson as a monument to her husband. Her namesake building was added in 1941.
According to Doug Wiley, executive director of Denver-based Amstar, the 75 percent leased Esperson Buildings have less than a 15 percent annual roll in leases for the next three years. In addition, rates increased 20 percent as closing approached.
EQUASTONE'S SHOPPING SPREE
DALLAS (Dallas Business Journal) – Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. has agreed to sell the following properties to Equastone Acquisitions LLC of San Diego for about $420 million:
• Palisades Central I and adjacent land parcel,
• Palisades Central II, 125 E. John Carpenter,
• The Addison,
• The Aberdeen,
• Greenway I & I A, Greenway II,
• MacArthur Center I & II,
• 3333 Lee Parkway,
• Stemmons Place,
• Stanford Corporate Centre and
• North Dallas Athletic Club
According to Crescent’s filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, the sale will close during this year’s third quarter.
Last month, Crescent agreed to be sold to funds managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate in a sale worth $6.5 billion
BUSINESS PARK'S DOUBLE DIP
ARLINGTON (globest.com) – Two leases totaling just over 106,500 square feet have increased occupancy at the Arlington Business Park to 89 percent.
Hickory Springs Mfg. Co., headquartered in North Carolina, will occupy about 63,600 square feet in a warehouse at 605 109th St., one of 14 in the park.
EasySales Inc., the newest business venture for former RadioShack Corp. president and CEO David Edmondson, has leased almost 42,920 square feet at 719 109th St. for its 65 employees.
The 415,000-square-foot park's owner of record is GT88 LP, a private partnership from California that has owned the complex since the late 1980s. Henry S. Miller Commercial handles leasing duties.
Jackson & Cooksey Co. in Dallas represented Hickory Springs. Dallas-based Staubach Co.'s Fort Worth office represented Edmondson.
RESTAURANT PART OF LINCOLN PLAZA RENOVATION
DALLAS (globest.com) – To restore Lincoln Plaza’s Class-AA status, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) is planning a $5 million to $8 million renovation for the more than one million-square-foot, 45-story highrise.
The makeover for the 84 percent leased property at 500 N. Akard St. has been in the works for 18 months, and changes include bringing the first Bon Appetit restaurant to the city.
The majority of Lincoln Plaza's work will be completed in fourth quarter 2007. North Carolina–based Compass Group should be ready to open the Bon Appetit in early 2008.
Pacific Builders Inc. is the general contractor, and Corgan Associates Inc. is the project architect. Both firms are locally based. The Worrell Group of Houston is the kitchen consultant.
CHECKING INN
THE WOODLANDS (Dallas Business Journal) – Avia, a 70-room boutique hotel built over retail, will be the first full-service hotel in the community not constructed by The Woodlands Development Co.
The Houston Avia in The Woodlands will be built by LodgeWorks LP, a hotel development firm based in Kansas.
The four-story Avia, with roughly 400,000 square feet of retail space and 100,000 square feet of office space, is set to rise in Market Street, the 34-acre mixed-use project launched by Fort Worth–based Trademark Property Co. in 2004.
The Woodlands Development Co., which maintains control over all commercial building and typically does not allow construction of competing projects, owns the existing 345-room Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center and the 440-room Woodlands Resort and Conference Center.
Dan Leverett, vice president of commercial properties for The Woodlands, says the firm will start construction in six to nine months on a hotel with about 250 rooms overlooking The Woodlands Waterway Square Development.
The Woodlands Avia is being designed by Law Kingdon of Wichita in conjunction with Paul Homeyer in the Houston office of Gensler. Construction will begin this fall at the earliest. Guests can start checking in sometime in 2009.
A STONE'S THROW AWAY
KILLEEN (kdhnews.com) – Stone Creek Apartment Homes, owned by PRM Realty in Dallas, recently held grand opening ceremonies for its 148-unit Stone Creek II complex.
The new apartments, including a second fitness center, swimming pool and clubhouse, are behind the first Stone Creek complex, which are now ten years old. Sizes range from 575 square feet for a one-bedroom, one-bath unit ($690 per month) to 989 square feet for a two-bedroom, two-bath unit ($900 per month). Stone Creek II is about 40 percent occupied, mostly by military personnel.
Two other new complexes are Brookside Apartment Homes at 3604 S. W.S. Young Dr. and Independence Place at Killeen at 5016 Watercrest Rd.
PARKING IT AT THE ENCLAVE
HOUSTON (PRNewswire) – Parkway Properties Inc., through its Parkway Properties Office Fund LP, has purchased 1401 Enclave Parkway for $46.5 million.
Constructed in 1999, 1401 Enclave is a 209,000-square-foot, six-story office building on seven acres in The Enclave, a 100-acre master planned corporate park in the Energy Corridor. Currently 100 percent leased to five tenants, the property includes an attached four-level garage with 711 parking spaces.
The Fund secured a $28 million, 5.8 percent fixed-rate first mortgage maturing in eight years. The property's going-in capitalization rate is approximately 6.6 percent with a leveraged internal rate of return of approximately 12.2 percent.
No comments:
Post a Comment