Middle Market Digest: This Week in the South and Mountain Regions

Houston makes the top three list of markets with the highest office vacancy rates: Westchester County, NY (24.6%, Fairfield County, CT (24.2%) and Houston (22%), according to a recent report by Cushman & Wakefield. Looking forward, office market trends will depend on job growth and construction deliveries, said Revathi Greenwood, head of Americas research at Cushman & Wakefield. He says the current pipeline of office space under construction, while high, is down substantially from mid-2017 levels and remains concentrated in a few markets. Cushman & Wakefield predicts that the pace of job growth will continue to be an important driver of office leasing fundamentals, and if demand remains as healthy as it’s been thus far in 2018, new construction should be absorbed.—Lisa Brown

NEWS AND NOTABLES

DALLAS—The Lauck Group, one of Texas’ premier interior architecture firms, has joined Perkins+Will.

DALLAS—Keaton Brice has joined ML Realty Partners as a market associate. Brice will support leasing efforts for the Dallas/Fort Worth team at ML Realty Partners. He was previously employed with Jones Lang LaSalle and Colony NorthStar in Dallas.

DALLAS—Benjamin West, hotel purchasing firm for furniture, fixtures and equipment, and operating supplies and equipment, has been selected to provide FF&E procurement services for a 69-hotel portfolio undergoing a comprehensive renovation. The portfolio is comprised of Marriott and Hilton hotels located throughout the United States. The project will be coordinated by Ed Phaby and David Westrick in the company’s Dallas office.

DENVER—BKM Capital Partners has acquired Inverness Business Park, a class-A, 215,268-square-foot eight-building industrial asset for $20.2 million, reflecting a 57% discount to replacement cost, according to Brian Malliet, CEO of BKM Capital Partners. This is BKM’s first acquisition in the Denver market.

DENVER—TRI Pointe Homes has named Darren DuPree as president of the home building brand’s Colorado division. DuPree brings 20 years of experience with him, having served in various leadership roles for several national public homebuilders across the country, most recently as division president of CalAtlantic Homes’ Charlotte division.

DENVER—George Rupp has been name managing director of Capital Formation at JCR Capital. JCR recently created the capital markets team as it continues its rapid marketing and fundraising efforts, which have increased its assets under management from $30 million to nearly $1 billion, including more than $300 million in 2017 alone.

FORT WORTH—Fort Worth Fort Capital has expanded its team to include a managing director of multifamily, Patrick Pine, and a new marketing director, Abby Osvog. As director of marketing, Osvog will be responsible for all marketing efforts, including brand management and strategy, content development, social media, website management, property marketing and public relations. As managing director of Fort Capital’s multifamily division, Pine will focus on enhancing growth through the acquisition and repositioning of value-add multifamily portfolios, and the development of ground-up multifamily and mixed-use developments.

LONGMONT, CO—NewMark Merrill Companies has named Emily Johnson as property manager. In her new role, Johnson will be responsible for overseeing the property management of the firm’s 1-million-square-foot portfolio of shopping centers throughout the Rocky Mountain region.

TULSA, OK—CBRE announces that Derick Hopper has been appointed associate director of asset services. In this role he will be responsible for the operations and overall performance of the market’s mixed portfolio of office, retail and industrial properties. In partnership with Michelle Anderson, associate managing director, Hopper will lead the asset services team in the Oklahoma and Arkansas markets.

DEAL TRACKER

ALLEN, TX—Globe Life and Accident Insurance Company leased 10,035 square feet at 1305 N. Watters Rd. Josh Barnes and Ben Wallace of Holt Lunsford Commercial represented the landlord, Gateway Industrial. Bruce Hecht and Ben Goldthorpe of Swearingen represented the tenant.

AURORA, CO—The Boulder Group completed the sale of a single tenant net leased 7-Eleven property located at 7451 S Gartrell Rd. for $3.495 million.

AUSTIN, TX—NAI Partners recently represented Clark and Clark Law in a 1,431-square-foot office lease in North Hills Office Park at 3624 North Hills Dr. NAI Partners’ David Dawkins and Patrick Hill represented the landlord during negotiations.

AUSTIN, TX—HFF announces the sale of DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Austin Northwest Arboretum, a 194-room full-service hotel adjacent to two of Austin’s most dynamic mixed-use developments, The Domain and The Arboretum. The HFF team marketed the property on behalf of the seller, Driftwood Hospitality Management. Pinnacle Hotels USA purchased the property unencumbered of the existing management contract.

AUSTIN, TX—DLR Group leased 2,412 rentable square feet at 823 Congress. The landlord was represented by Jason Steinberg and Matt Levin with ECR, and the tenant was represented by Bre Brown with JLL.

AUSTIN, TX—Impero Solutions leased 1,728 rentable square feet at 823 Congress. The landlord was represented by Jason Steinberg and Matt Levin with ECR, and the tenant was represented by Luke Wheeler and Stayton Wright with Transwestern.

CYPRESS, TX—NAI Partners’ Retail Services team recently arranged a 3,040-square-foot lease for The Catch seafood restaurant at 19831 Northwest Fwy. Jason Gaines, senior vice president and head of the company’s retail services group, represented the landlord in the transaction.

DALLAS—Hunt Mortgage Group provided a Fannie Mae DUS loan in the amount of $6.4 million to refinance a multifamily property. Park Beverly is a 144-unit multifamily complex located in northeast Dallas. The property is situated on 2.7 acres and is comprised of eight, two-story garden-style residential buildings. The property was built in 1963 and offers studios, one-, and two-bedroom units in 13 floor plans. The borrower is Cresta 5827 Blackwell LLC, a Texas limited liability company, backed by key principals Avy Azeroual and Reuben Robin.

DALLAS—Continental Datalabel, Inc. leased 32,849 square feet at 9600-9660 Dilworth Rd.  Matt Dornak with Stream Realty Partners represented the landlord, ML Realty Partners. Ryan Wolcott with Stream Realty Partners represented the tenant.

DALLAS—Magpie Land LLC sold its 43,597-square-foot building at 1371-1373 and 1375 Round Table Dr. to DTC Real Estate Holdings LLC. Tom Pearson and Brad Balke with Colliers represented the seller, Magpie Land LLC. Jason Moser and Hanes Chatham with Stream Realty Partners represented the buyer.

DENVER—CBRE completed the sale of One Belleview Station, a 318,057-square-foot class-A office tower located adjacent to the Belleview light rail transit-oriented development in the Denver Tech Center. CBRE’s Mike Winn, Tim Richey, Chad Flynn, Jenny Knowlton and Charley Will represented the owner/developer, Prime West of Denver. Lincoln Property Company represented the buyer, Ramrock Real Estate LLC of Dallas, and will be managing the property. The 100% leased office tower completed in 2017 is anchored by Western Union’s global headquarters.

FARMERS BRANCH, TX—A&W Trucking leased 32,000 square feet at 13290 Senlac Dr. Andrew Gilbert of Holt Lunsford Commercial represented the landlord, Principal Financial Group. Trace Fielding of Paladin Partners represented the tenant.

FORT WORTH—Recycling and Waste Reduction leased 26,500 square feet at 992 Haltom Rd. Jeff Traylor represented the landlord, Enigma Properties Haltom LLC. Forrest Cook and Matt Dornak with Stream Realty Partners represented the tenant.

GARLAND, TX—Kingsley Industrial, LLC sold its 54,000-square-foot building at 2601 W. Kingsley Rd. to Snell Motor Company Inc. Matt Dornak and Ryan Wolcott with Stream Realty Partners handled the transaction.

GARLAND, TX—Vanguard Inks & Coatings LLC leased 7,020 square feet at 2050 Forest Ln. Josh Barnes and Ben Wallace of Holt Lunsford Commercial represented the landlord, KFG Investments.

GRAPEVINE, TX—Marine Toys for Tots Foundation leased 30,240 square feet at Heritage Business Park – Building 6 at 800 Industrial Blvd. Blake Kendrick, Ryan Boozer, and Sarah Ozanne with Stream Realty Partners represented the landlord, Prologis.

GRAND PRAIRIE, TX—Soho Somervell Trinity LP sold its 265,877-square-foot building at Trinity 161 Trade Center at 3100 State Highway 161 to Colony Industrial. Cannon Green and Sarah Ozanne with Stream Realty Partners represented the buyer.

HOUSTON—JLL’s Capital Markets experts secured financing for the acquisition of Brompton Court Apartments, located at 7510 Brompton Rd. Voya Investment Management LLC provided the loan for S2 Capital, which purchased the property from CMS Brompton Court LP. Managing director Mark Brandenburg led the JLL team on the financing.

HOUSTON—Houston-based Baker Katz completed a lease for Texas Children’s in Houston.

PLANO, TX—Vanguard Inks & Coatings LLC leased 7,020 square feet at 2050 Forest Ln. Josh Barnes and Ben Wallace of Holt Lunsford Commercial represented the landlord, KFG Investments.

PLANO, TX—TDI Technologies Inc. leased 19,181 square feet at 1600 10th St. Josh Barnes and Ben Wallace of Holt Lunsford Commercial represented the landlord, KFG Investments.

PLANO, TX—Custom Computer Cables of America Inc. leased 20,000 square feet at 1600 10th St. Josh Barnes and Ben Wallace of Holt Lunsford Commercial represented the landlord, KFG Investments. Andy Goldston of Citadel Partners represented the tenant.

SAN ANGELO, TX—Alamo Village, a 138-unit multifamily property located at 4459 Green Valley Trail, has sold. William E. Stover, senior associate, and Mike Moffitt, first vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Austin office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a partnership. The buyer, a private investor, was also secured by Stover and Moffitt. Hank Crane, senior director of Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation, originated the loan.

BUILDING BLOCKS

DENVER—Mass Equities Inc. and AECOM Capital announce a new partnership for the development of MEQ’s prominent 2017 property acquisition in Denver’s emerging River North (RiNo) Art District. The 7.8-acre site will be home to a class-A mixed-use development that reimagines an existing structure in combination with approximately 522,000 square feet of new construction that will both enhance and blend with the future growth of the neighborhood.