SAN ANTONIO—Labeling San Antonio has having a flurry of activity is appropriate as the holiday flurry is in full force and year end quickly approaches. The deal pace here is indeed fast and furious, and the city is poised for another great year as one of the most active metro areas in the nation.
Strategic investments for value-add opportunities are earmarks of the region's strong economic environment and projected market growth. Not to be outdone is leasing activity, which also continues to hum along.
In office acquisition news, WestRidge at La Cantera, a two-building class-A office campus totaling 258,031 square feet, was recently sold. The Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP team marketed the property on behalf of the seller, USAA Real Estate. Preferred Office Properties, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Preferred Apartment Communities Inc., purchased the assets for an undisclosed amount. Additionally, working on behalf of the new owner, the HFF team placed the 11-year 4.1% fixed-rate acquisition loan with Allianz Real Estate of America LLC.
WestRidge at La Cantera comprises WestRidge One and WestRidge Two, which are located at 15955 and 15935 La Cantera Pkwy. in the Northwest submarket. The properties are situated on 22 acres within the larger 1.3-million-square-foot La Cantera mixed-use development featuring shopping, dining and hotel space nestled on 150 acres of Hill Country terrain. This location is proximate to two of San Antonio's main thoroughfares, Interstate 10 and Loop 1604, which provide access to some of the most coveted neighborhoods, including The Dominion, Stone Oak, Fair Oaks Ranch and Cross Mountain.
In another San Antonio transaction, Electra America and its management affiliate, Robbins Electra, acquired Firewheel Apartments, a 366-unit apartment community. The property was bought from HPI Residential, a full-service commercial real estate company based in central Texas.
Berkadia's South Florida team arranged the financing on behalf of Electra America. This is the firm's second San Antonio multifamily acquisition so far this year–it acquired Pecan Springs, a 344-unit garden-style multifamily community, just two months ago. With this acquisition, Electra America now owns six multifamily communities in San Antonio, and more than 60 properties in Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.
In yet another acquisition, PPH Real Estate LLC, a partnership of local physicians and investors, purchased the building at 5109 Medical Dr., an 80,000-square-foot specialty medical building on the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa medical center campus, from Stream Realty Partners for an undisclosed price.
The four-story building was constructed in 2008 on a long-term ground lease with CHRISTUS Health. It was specially designed and built for overnight clinical research studies for pharmaceutical R&D.
The buyer is working with CHRISTUS to bring additional services to its medical center campus. The facility is highly finished and includes 38 semi-private rooms for 100 patient beds and 22 restrooms, a clinical laboratory and a pharmacy, GlobeSt.com learns. Scott Herbold of CBRE capital markets' investment properties-healthcare, arranged the sale on behalf of Stream Realty Partners.
Not to be outdone is the hospitality segment, which was represented in a recent transaction by 2GR Equity. This real estate investment firm based in Grapevine, TX entered into an equity investment via joint venture with San Antonio-based hospitality development and management company, Phoenix Hospitality Group. The newly formed JV acquired the 149-room Hotel Indigo on the River Walk. PHG will be responsible for the operations of the hotel, which will include overseeing major interior and exterior upgrades to the property.
This is the second hospitality investment made by 2GR equity into the San Antonio market. 2GR Equity principal and cofounder, David Gregory, believes the hotel will be positioned well to take advantage of the growth in the San Antonio market.
“With the recently completed $325 million expansion/renovation of the Henry B. Gonzalez convention center and the room night demand that comes along with that, we believe the San Antonio hospitality market has its best years ahead of it,” says Gregory.
And finally, Boston-based Taurus Investment Holdings has selected JLL as the new exclusive leasing partner for The Pyramid Building. This nine-story 220,693-square-foot class-A office building is located in the North Central submarket located at 601 NW Loop 410. JLL's Meredith Sheeder will lead marketing and leasing efforts.
Taurus purchased the iconic San Antonio office project in late 2016 and has since completed a number of capital improvement projects at the property. Ownership added a programmable Philips Color Kinetics LED lighting system to the building's exterior, amplifying the building's unique architecture and prominence within the San Antonio skyline. In addition, the building's elevators are currently being modernized and the elevator cabs are being refinished, GlobeSt.com learns.
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
