The Deal Sheet

Lakewood Town Square has a new owner, thanks to a unique bridge loan. (Normally we stay away from unique bridges because we're scared of heights.)

NorthMarq VP Warren Hitchcock secured acquisition financing for the 32k SF Northwest Houston retail center. He says it would typically be a bank deal, but life company Symetra understands real estate and the area and chose to finance the deal. He tells us it was a distressed purchase (previously bank-owned) with low occupancy and a difficult seller. Still, financing closed within 45 days and provided ten-year debt at a 4% interest rate. Also compelling for the borrower: The 10+10-year term fully amortizing, which means it won't have to refi with a bank. (Warren says that setup is especially appealing for smaller projects.) Warren's closing a few office buildings inside the Loop at the end of the month.

EXECS

Emre Ozcan joined JE Dunn as the Houston office leader. He has more than 20 years of experience.

SALES

ICA Logistics purchased 5 acres at Fuqua and Cottingham Streets. ICO Commercial’s Jane Nodskov and Lang Motes repped the seller.

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An undisclosed private investor purchased Atascocita Shopping Plaza, a 159k SF grocery-anchored center in Humble. HFF’s Rusty Tamlyn, Ryan West, and Matt Berry repped seller Red Tail Acquisitions. The asset is 95% occupied, including an in-line lease to Aldi. (That’s rare—most of their Houston locations are free-standing owned stores.)

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AEI Postwood purchased a 42k SF shopping center at Cypresswood Drive and Treaschwig Road in Spring. EDGE Realty’s Josh Jacobs and Jed Mandel repped the seller and Stoner Consulting’s Kyle Stoner repped the buyer.

DEVELOPMENT

Embrey Partners and Stonelake Capital Partners have delivered Highpoint at Cypresswood, a 336-unit high-end multifamily community in Northwest Houston. Embrey EVP John Kirk says the goal was to provide an urban property you’d find inside the Loop minus the parking garage. The four-story property sits on 15 acres at the SWC of Highway 249 and Cypresswood Drive.

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Arch-Con broke ground on a Whole Foods at Woodway and Voss for developer Regency Centers. It’ll more than replace the existing Whole Foods at 6401 Woodway—it’s double the size of that store. The new 47k SF location (it’ll also include 4,000 SF of small shop space attached) is on the former Randalls site and is the anchor tenant for Regency’s Woodway Collection center.

FINANCING

NorthMarq’s Warren Hitchcock secured permanent financing for Technology Forest, a 65k SF mixed-use property on Research Forest Boulevard in The Woodlands. He arranged the deal, with 3%-range interest rate, through a life insurance company.

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HFF’s Cortney Cole closed three loans for Venterra Realty. She and Will Crawley secured refinancing for Shadowbrooke and Silverbrooke, two Class-A multifamily communities totaling 552 units in Stafford. Those locked in five-year, 3.07% fixed-rate loans with two years of I/O through Freddie Mac’s CME program. HFF also brokered the sale and arranged acquisition financing for Venterra which it originally purchased the assets in 2011. Cortney also teamed up with JC Clemens Jr to arranged acquisition financing for Fairways at South Shore, a 332-unit fractured condo deal in League City. The seven-year, 4.5% fixed-rate loan has four years of I/O through a CMBS lender. HFF will service the securitized loan.

THIS AND THAT

Transwestern was awarded leasing of HCP’s medical development on the Memorial Hermann Pearland Medical Center campus. Construction on a 100k SF MOB began at the end of last month and is delivering in Q1 ’15. It’s already 35% preleased to Memorial Hermann for outpatient programs, so 65k SF remains available for physicians. A Convenient Care Center and 64-bed hospital project is breaking ground this month, and HCP has already delivered one MOB on the campus (it’s fully occupied). Transwestern’s Ashley Cassel, Brandy Bellow Spinks, and Scott Carter will handle leasing.

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Asset Plus was awarded management of Crossings at Hillcroft, a 300-unit multifamily community at Hillcroft and Beltway 8. The property is about to begin an exterior rehab.

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25 local high school students participated in Admiral Hospitality Scholars, an internship program launched by NBA Hall-of-Famer David Robinson. The program, which he launched last year with support from Hilton Worldwide, puts students through a three-day hospitality camp at UH, giving them an inside look at different hospitality careers. Each student is then matched with a personal mentor in the industry and completes a one-year internship at a local Hilton property managed by American Liberty Hospitality. When they graduate from high school, the kids receive financial support toward a hospitality degree if they pursue one.

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NAI Houston was selected as exclusive leasing agent for the 15425 North Freeway and 222 Pennbright office buildings in North Houston. They total 164k SF of Class-B office space. Doug Pack negotiated the agreement for NAI in-house, and Drew Crawford is handling the assignment.