Top Golf Site Sells

OrangeStone Capital just purchased 13 acres that you’re sure to step foot on quite a bit—it’s leased out to TopGolf. It’s an incredibly attractive site, which pushed it to record cap rates.

OrangeStone partner Hussain Nathoo (second from right at his wedding with business partners/groomsmen Iqbal Ali, Mohammed Ali and Khalil Kajanitells) tells us his firm is targeting assets in high barrier to entry markets where existing land values wouldn’t allow for the assets to be developed today. That’s led it to invest in North Austin five times, and Hussain tells us it’s continuing to look for opportunities nearby. (It’s targeting retail, office and hospitality.) The TopGolf site is particularly attractive because it sits right next to the Domain. Besides, TopGolf has proven to be an excellent operator, with alcohol sales among the top 10 in the city, and it’s got a long-term lease in place.

Avison Young principal Darrell Betts and VP Hunter Jaggard (who formed the firm's Southwest retail investment team three years ago) brokered the sale; Hunter tells us the site generated an incredible amount of interest from national and foreign investors looking for a longer-term covered land play in the heart of a major growth area. (He says people can feel the buzz in Austin, which is attracting investors and a younger workforce alike.) It’d be a killer redevelopment play; Bury estimates 2.7M SF could be built on the site, and detention and water quality is in place for future impervious cover. The seller was an entity controlled by Endeavor Real Estate Group. Commercial Resource Capital's Jason Dannatt provided non-recourse debt for the buyer through a life company. Darrell and Hunter are growing Avison Young's retail team, focusing especially on Texas deals and recently making some new hires. It's coming out with another cool high-profile Austin retail portfolio next month, Hunter tells us.