Hulen Mall Face Lift; The Deal Sheet

A multi-million dollar renovation started May 23 at Fort Worth?s Hulen Mall with plans for a 22k SF restaurant plaza as well as aesthetic upgrades. Sounds like Joan Rivers—only better.

Just a few studs short of a dining room. The project is expected to be ready for a November opening, says Hulen Mall GM Kevin Davies, and much of the work will take place after mall hours. Some of the existing features are original to the shopping center, so the change is going to be impressive, he says. Almost all aspects will be enhanced, resulting in a new look that's lighter, brighter, and more welcoming, he says.

Completion of the interior construction will coincide with completion of the outdoor restaurant plaza, which is underway on the east side of Hulen Mall. Abuelo?s and BJ?s Restaurant & Brewhouse (when reached for comment, the potato skins told us they were delicious) are also aiming for November opening dates; more restaurant announcements are anticipated. The creation of the restaurant plaza will refresh and enhance the existing Hulen Street east mall entrances, Kevin says. Contemporary paving materials will be added to develop and embellish the plaza with a garden environment. Hulen Mall is owned and managed by General Growth Properties.

SALES

NYC-based The Praedium Group and Price Realty Corp bought the 362-unit residential complex Hidden Creek in Lewisville. The partnership purchased the multifamily asset for more than $20M from Waterton Associates.

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A private investment group acquired 1120 Empire Central Place, a 23k SF three-story office building in the Empire Central submarket for an undisclosed price. The group plans to re-tenant the asset. Bright Realty's REO team, associates Kerry Assa and Tony Albanese, negotiated the sale for SB&T Assets Corp. Bright Realty used its contact database to market the project to more than 50k real estate professionals nationwide, resulting in several competing offers. After selecting the best offer, the sale closed in just 15 days.

NEW BUSINESS

Younan Properties tapped Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services' leasing team to drive occupancy in its 188k SF, 72% occupied Galleria Plaza at 4851 LBJ Freeway. SVPs Sharon Friedberg and Melanie Hughes will lead the effort. They also lease Younan's NCP III at 12801 N. Central Expressway and 9400 NCX, which recently was sold. Galleria Plaza's lead tenant is Benefit Mall, which occupies two floors totaling 38k SF. Because all lease rolls in 2011 have been addressed, the team's focus can be on finding new tenants or expanding existing ones.

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Dallas ISD selected Cadence McShane Construction Co to complete the 98k SF construction of Adelfa Botello Callejo Elementary School. The new primary school will be situated on a 12.6-acre site at 7817 Military Pkwy. The two-story elementary facility will incorporate numerous sustainable features in compliance with the DISD sustainable design board policy and the City of Dallas Green Building Ordinance. Green attributes include: geothermal heating and cooling system, heat reflective roof, water efficient plumbing, and natural daylighting that will collectively contribute to a 31% reduction in net energy usage. Sustainable and low-emitting materials will be incorporated, and the building will have a recycling program. HKS Architects is providing the architectural services. The project is slated for completion in June 2012.

LEASES

SCM Real Estate Services prez Gary Walker and leasing specialist Renee Efimoff repped the landlord in a 102k SF lease to Guard-All for a warehouse/office on 1011 Regal Row in Dallas. Bryan Lurie with RMB investments represented the tenant.

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Toys R Us/Babies R Us signed a 34k SF lease in Southlake Corners at 250 N. Kimball Ave between State Highway 114 and East Southlake Boulevard. The Retail Connection?s David Levinson repped the landlord, Inland Western Southlake Corners. SRS Real Estate Partners' Daniel Taylor, Ryan Johnson, and Mark Reeder repped the tenant.

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Raising Cane's Restaurants leased 30k SF of land at 3765 S Cooper St in Arlington from Arlington Park Holdings. CBRE's Jeff Kittleson and Michael Meaden represented the landlord. Kevie Beard of City Venture Group represented the tenant.

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Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith renewed its 47k SF office lease at 2100 Ross Ave in Dallas from 2100 Ross Realty. CBRE's Dennis Barnes, Celeste Fowden, and Clay Gilbert  represented the landlord. CBRE's Warren Willey, Jordan Buis, Chris Bone, and Phil Puckett represented the tenant.

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Zurn Industries leased 55k SF of industrial space at 12847 Valley Branch in Farmers Branch from ProLogis Texas I. CBRE's Chris Mickey represented the tenant.

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Superior Floors renewed and expanded its lease of 33k SF of industrial space at 101 Wrangler Dr in Coppell from Buckhead Coppell Industrial. CBRE's Adam Hammack and Steve Trese represented the landlord. Tyson Erwin of NAI Robert Lynn represented the tenant.

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HQ Global Workplace renewed its 26k SF lease for office space at 15305 North Dallas Pkwy in Dallas from SP US V5 Colonnade. CBRE's J.J. Leonard, Jay Bailey, and Susannah Bame repped the landlord and colleagues Steve Rigby, Baron Aldrine, Peter Danna,Mike Kay and Mike Cleary repped the tenant.

FINANCE

Walker & Dunlop arranged a $3.2M loan for Villa de Oro Apartments in San Antonio. The loan was structured with one-year of IO followed with a 30-year amortization and was underwritten with a 75% loan to cost. The lender was a regional bank. The borrower is Mick Rosley of Stillwater Capital. Villa de Oro Apartments is a 150-unit garden-style apartment community built in 1987, which was 87% leased at closing. Walker & Dunlop loan officer Alex Inman originated the loan and led the Walker & Dunlop team.

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HFF secured $15M financing for a 514k SF distribution center that is fully leased to ASICS America in Byhalia, Miss. Working for the borrower, an affiliate of Lexington Realty Trust, HFF placed the five-year, 4.7% loan with The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.  Loan proceeds were used to acquire the property, which was completed in April as a build-to-suit for ASICS America. The HFF team representing Lexington Realty Trust  was led by director Brandon Chavoya.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Lucas Patterson joined Bright Realty as director of retail development. His primary focus is the development of The Bridges at Castle Hills, a planned mixed-use project located in the Lewisville area. The Bridges at Castle Hills will offer major anchor locations, prime retail, office, dining, and entertainment sites, as well as multifamily living. Lucas will also focus on the existing Castle Hills Village Shops and on the growth of Bright Realty's third-party management, leasing, and asset disposition services.

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Westmount Realty Finance recently added Jim Brownlow to its team as managing director. He brings more than 40 years of real estate experience to WRF including extensive capital markets, investment, and development experience encompassing all sectors of commercial and residential real estate; he'll focus on expanding the firm's real estate acquisitions and capital raising efforts. 

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Grubb & Ellis Co SVP for global logistics Gary Lindsey was recently recognized among the company's top brokerage professionals for 2010 at Grubb & Ellis' annual Circle of Excellence event. Gary specializes in the acquisition, disposition, and leasing of industrial properties in DFW and in 2010 represented the Ennis Economic Development Corp in the sale of 256 acres located on the Hwy 287 Bypass in Ennis to Sysco Foods, as well as John Plott Co in the acquisition of a 150k SF facility from Granite Properties in Denton. He has qualified for the company's Circle of Excellence four times and has been a top producer of the Dallas office 14 times. 

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Jones Lang LaSalle hired Daryl Mullin as SVP of landlord leasing in Dallas. Prior to joining JLL, Daryl was a principal at Transwestern where he served on the Dallas executive committee and specialized in tenant advisory, dispositions, and agency leasing services for clients in the DFW area and nationwide. Previously he worked at Cushman & Wakefield of Texas as a senior director of brokerage services, where he led the leasing team at Bank of America Plaza, downtown Dallas? largest building.

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Mohr Partners promoted Stephen Hemphill to managing director in its corporate office. Stephen joined Mohr Partners more than eight years ago. In 2010, he was ranked No. 5 in the DBJ?s Top 35 Brokers Under 35 listing. He was named Mohr Partners' Mentor of the Year in 2006 while serving as a co-manager of the business development group and Broker of the Year in 2007.