This Week’s Houston Deal Sheet
Costco Wholesale Corp. purchased 13 acres at the Grid, a mixed-use development in Stafford, for the construction of the area’s first Costco Business Center.
Construction has already begun on a 148K SF retail space that will serve as the anchor tenant for the mixed-use development.
The Grid is being developed by StreetLevel Investments and joint venture partner Provident Realty Advisors. Construction of the 192-acre mixed-use development began in 2018 and will be completed in multiple phases.
Some of the offerings include 350K SF of retail, restaurant and entertainment concepts; 2,400 residential units; 500K SF of creative office space; multiple hotel brands and concepts; a health club; a network of pocket parks, jogging and bike trails; and activated public space. Architecture firm Gensler and landscape architecture company TBG are consultants on the project.
PEOPLE
New Hope Housing elected Frank Steininger to join its board of directors. Steininger, who retired from Civeo Corp. last year, brings with him extensive financial experience. Steininger worked for over six years at Civeo and previously was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he worked for more than 34 years.
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Andi Bolin joined Stewart Title as agency sales manager, responsible for growing and managing agency partnerships in Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast region. Bolin brings nearly 14 years of title and settlement experience to Stewart, including recent experience in operations management, escrow systems and processes, and business development.
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Matthew Stirneman joined the Houston office of Chamberlain Hrdlicka as senior counsel in the Corporate, Securities & Finance practice. Stirneman will focus on corporate finance, securities, real estate, energy and other general business matters, including representing borrowers, financial institutions and private equity firms in structuring, negotiating and documenting financing transactions.
SALES
7155 Old Katy Realty, an entity of Braun Enterprises, purchased a two-story, 90.4K SF multi-tenant office building at 7155 Old Katy Road in the North Loop West office submarket. The building is on 4.17 acres. The buyer represented itself in the transaction, while Colliers International’s David Carter and Taylor Wright represented the seller, Houston Eye Associates.
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United Equities purchased a 30K SF industrial building at 9342 Telge Road, located within Aberdeen Business Park. The property is leased to Oceaneering International Inc. NAI Partners’ Travis Land represented the buyer, while Colliers International’s Jason English represented the seller.
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Louisville, Kentucky-based Charah Solutions purchased the 6,166-acre Gibbons Creek Electric Station and Reservoir in Grimes County, northwest of Houston. The property was acquired by a Charah Solutions subsidiary, Gibbons Creek Environmental Redevelopment Group LLC. Avison Young advised the buyer. The team was led by Avison Young’s Richard Shield, with support from Richard Hanson and Marissa Rose in the Chicago office and Tommy LeBlanc in the Houston office.
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A private investor purchased a 15K SF shopping center in Cleveland, northeast of Houston. Mission Realty’s Scott Lambert represented the buyer, while Newman Kelly’s Nate Newman and Logan Kelly represented the seller.
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An undisclosed buyer purchased 4.32 acres at West Orem Drive and Hillcroft Avenue in southwest Houston. RESOLUT RE’s Mohamed Gamal represented the seller, Gamal Enterprises Inc.
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A group of investors, including Sunrise Capital Group and led by David Davidenko, Julia Bykhovskaia and Merrill Kaliser, acquired The Gallery at Katy, a 316-unit, garden-style apartment complex in the Katy/Cinco Ranch submarket. The property was built in 1983 and was recently renovated. It was 94% occupied at the time of sale. The acquisition marks Sunrise's first property in Houston and its eighth property under management in Texas. Newmark’s Brett Benton brokered the transaction.
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Merit Hill Capital purchased Good Spot Storage, a 30K SF self-storage facility at 3735 Mangum Road in northwest Houston. Marcus & Millichap’s Dave Knobler marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The buyer was secured by Knobler and Charles LeClaire in the Denver office.
LEASES
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals leased 25.3K SF for its new corporate headquarters at 2445 Technology Forest Blvd. in The Woodlands. The company sold its previous corporate campus at 8800 Technology Forest at the end of 2020. NAI Partners’ Dan Boyles and Jon Silberman represented the tenant in the lease transaction, in addition to handling the sale of the corporate campus last year.
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Commando Pressure Control Inc. renewed its lease for a 14.1K SF industrial building at 11614 Canyon Trail Drive in northwest Houston. The property is located in Four Seasons Business Park. Finial Group’s Jack Gaffney and John Buckley represented the landlord.
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Kelsey-Seybold Clinic leased 12.5K SF at River Oaks Shopping Center. The new location is expected to open in September. Weingarten Realty Investors' John Wise represented the landlord, Weingarten.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Lovett Commercial has signed an agreement with Live Nation to open a new concert venue at POST Houston, the firm’s redevelopment of Houston’s historic Barbara Jordan Post Office. The 90K SF theater is under construction and scheduled to open in 2021. The venue will anchor POST Houston and has been designed by the New York practice of architecture firm OMA in collaboration with Houston-based Powers Brown Architecture.
The 550K SF development of POST Houston aims to provide the city’s north Downtown neighborhoods with a mixed-use environment combining arts, entertainment, creative workspaces, dining and retail. The project is located at 401 Franklin St.
FINANCING
BV Capital and Archway Properties have launched the BV Archway Real Estate Income Fund, jump-starting a $50M equity play with the off-market acquisition of a 111-acre business park in the Houston market. The fund is planning to acquire 10 to 12 single-tenant, triple-net-leased properties in Texas. BV Capital projects it will be fully invested in one to two years.
The fund has seeded the portfolio with its first holding: a 79.7K SF Floor & Décor showroom and warehouse in Park Air 59, a mixed-use development located at the eastern entrance of Bush Intercontinental Airport. The Archway-developed project, which delivered in late 2019, is secured by a triple-net lease.
The fund’s strategy calls for an anticipated five-year hold. The team is focused on sourcing build-to-suit developments and one-off acquisitions of newer buildings, which are triple-net-leased for the long term to creditworthy tenants in strong markets like Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston.
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Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. arranged $3.7M in refinancing for an 80-unit multifamily asset in Houston. The seven-year loan featured a 3.25% fixed interest rate, two years of interest only and the repatriation of equity to the sponsor. The financing was negotiated on behalf of the borrower by Marcus & Millichap’s Brandon Brown.
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Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. has arranged $7M in refinancing for a 110-unit multifamily asset in Houston. The 10-year loan features a 3.89% fixed interest rate and six years of interest only. Marcus & Millichap’s Brandon Brown represented the borrower.
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JLL Capital Markets arranged acquisition financing for Savoy Manor, a 192-unit multifamily property in Houston. JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, REEP Equity, to secure the 10-year, floating-rate loan through Freddie Mac. The loan will be serviced by JLL Real Estate Capital LLC, a Freddie Mac Optigo lender. The JLL Capital Markets team representing the seller was led by Mark Brandenburg, CW Sheehan and Cort Martin.
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NorthMarq’s Larry Peters finalized a cash-out refinance for Market at Shenandoah, an 11.6K SF Class-A retail property in Conroe. The transaction was structured with a 10-year term on a 25-year amortization schedule at a 3.65% interest rate. NorthMarq arranged financing for the borrower through its correspondent relationship with Symetra, a life insurance company.
THIS AND THAT
Transwestern Real Estate Services has been engaged by Cousins Properties to provide office leasing services for BriarLake Plaza in Houston’s Westchase submarket. The assignment encompasses two Class-A assets: the 502.4K SF One BriarLake Plaza at 2000 West Sam Houston Parkway S and the 333.1K SF Two BriarLake Plaza at 2050 West Sam Houston Parkway S. Transwestern’s David Baker, Tyler Garrett and Katy Gragg will represent ownership.
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Hartman Income REIT Management has launched Bizsuites, a single-office model designed for affordability and flexibility for Texas small businesses. It will be rolling out in eight locations across Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio, with more locations coming on board later this year.
Bizsuites offices span seven suburban office submarkets within three of the four major metros of Texas. The locations include furnished office options, coffee bars, free WiFi, presentation equipment, lobby directory listings, mail delivery services and complimentary maintenance and janitorial services.
