This Week's Houston Deal Sheet

Grand Morton Town Center in Katy is expanding. With pre-leases from HomeGoods, Michaels, Petco and Hallmark, NewQuest will break ground in a couple of months on 66K SF of Class-A retail space. 

HomeGoods, a division of TJ Cos., and Michael Stores Inc. have agreed to occupy about 22K SF apiece. Petco Animal Supplies Inc. leased 12,500 SF and Hallmark Cards Inc. is absorbing 4,500 SF. The property still has 10K SF of available space in Phase 1. 

Grand Morton Town Center is among a hotbed of retail near the intersection of Grand Parkway and Morton Ranch Road. The nearby 124K SF Kroger Marketplace has consistently been one of the company's top performers since its opening in 2016, and the local Walmart store is also one of the company's top revenue generators. 

The retail environment is also supported by population growth, which has annually increased between 4% and 6%, and good demographics in Katy. The 7-mile trade area has about 400,000 residents with an average annual household income of nearly $113K. 

"We hope with the synergy to be gained from this anchor lineup that we can continue the momentum into Phase 1," NewQuest Properties' Josh Friedlander said. 

NewQuest plans to develop an additional 13 acres in Phase 2. However, no timeline for the phase was announced.  

Edge Realty's Culver Stedman represented HomeGoods. Cullum Commercial's Joan Cullum represented Michaels. NewQuest's Matt Reed represented Petco, and Hallmark represented itself. 

The stores will open early next summer. 

EXECS

Mark Sampsell was appointed the general manager of the Houston Marriott CityPlace in Springwoods Village. The 10-story, 337-room hotel is slated to open in early October and will be the first full-service hotel in the master-planned community. With more than 20 years of experience, Sampsell most recently worked as the general manager of the Embassy Suites Houston West-Katy. He will oversee the completion of the hotel and its operations once it is delivered.

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Misty Kelly joined NAI Partners as vice president of property services in its landlord services division. A 20-year vet, Kelly most recently oversaw property management of some of Stream Realty Partners’ 8M SF portfolio. In the new role, the Stephen F. Austin State University graduate will manage operations in Houston, San Antonio and Austin.  

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Steve Kilcrease was promoted to the national director of planning and construction at Transwestern Development Co. He will oversee planning, design and construction management for the firm’s office, multifamily and mixed-use projects nationwide. Previously completed jobs include the Gulf States Toyota headquarters, a 475K SF corporate build-to-suit; BHP Billiton Tower, a 600K SF, 30-story office building; and The RO, a $750M mixed-use project.

SALES

The Valcap Group purchased three multifamily communities: Westchase Estates, Westchase Grand and Westchase Preserve, all in the Westchase District. The deals comprise 1,331 units totaling 994K SF at 91% occupancy. CBRE’s Michael Thompson represented the buyer. CBRE’s Matt Phillips and Clint Duncan represented the sellers, Ascension Commercial Real Estate and Moriah Group.

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Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, negotiated the acquisition of 24 multifamily assets throughout Texas totaling 8,972 units for $877M. The two Houston properties are Airport Landing and Airport Gardens with 412 units and The Broadmoor with 235 units. IPA’s Will Balthrope, Drew Kile and Jennifer Campbell represented the company in the Houston sales.

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Orange Stone Capital, along with partner Madison Avenue Realty, purchased Cullen Plaza, an 85K SF Fiesta-anchored shopping center at 9400 Cullen Blvd. in Houston. Edge Capital Markets represented the buyer and joint sellers, Weingarten and AEW.

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A limited liability company purchased 5.6 acres in the Central Green Business Park near Houston. The property is on Air Center Boulevard at the corner of McAulty Road and is adjacent to the Hardy Airport Connector. Marcus & Millichap’s Christopher Jones represented the seller, a partnership.

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An undisclosed buyer purchased EaDo 41, a student housing development at 4102 McKinney St. in Houston. The development is about 1 mile from the University of Houston. River Oaks Equity Partners represented the seller.

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An undisclosed national private self-storage LLC purchased Eagle’s Nest Storage, a 120K SF storage facility in Humble. It consists of 426 drive-up, non-climate-controlled units. Marcus & Millichap’s Dave Knobler and Chico LeClaire represented the seller.

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An undisclosed buyer purchased Regions Bank - Alder Trails, at 11415 Barker Cypress Road in Cypress. The recently constructed bank has a long-term triple net corporate ground lease and is shadow-anchored by Walmart Neighborhood Market. Marcus & Millichap’s Robby Pfeiffer represented the buyer. EDGE’s Burdette Huffman represented the seller, Read King.

LEASES

Houston-based Global Stainless Supply renewed a 211K SF, full-building lease at Railwood Industrial Park, 8900 Railwood Drive in Northeast Houston. The Class-A industrial warehouse building was built in 2008 and offers 8K SF of office space, 24 dock-high doors, 28-foot clear height and ample outside storage. JLL’s Ryan Fuselier and Jeff Venghaus represented the tenant. Holt Lunsford’s Kelly Landwermeyer represented the landlord, CenterPoint Properties.

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Belvoir Real Estate Group was awarded property management and leasing for a 12-story, 213K SF office building at 333 North Sam Houston Parkway East. Belvoir’s Tarra Hicks will lead property management services and Patrick Grimes, Rin Willis and Angela Barber will lead leasing services.

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WORKSUITES inked a 15K SF office lease for the third floor at 510 Bering Drive in Houston. The new location is a part of the company’s expansion strategy in the Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth markets. ESRP Advisory’s John Pelletier and Greg Burns and NAI Partners’ Dan Boyles and Michael Mannella represented the tenant. Stream Realty’s Richard Barbles represented the landlord.

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East Hampton Sandwich Co. was named the first of seven chef-driven concepts to be featured at Understory, a 35K SF community hub and culinary market within Skanska's Capitol Tower. The Dallas-based upscale sandwich shop will open its third location in Houston when the Downtown skyscraper opens in 2019. Transwestern’s Nick Hernandez, Crystal Allen and Lacee Wilke represented Skanska.

DEVELOPMENT

Conn’s HomePlus inked a 657K SF lease at 1401 Rankin Road to build a new distribution center in North Houston. This deal is one of the largest industrial leases completed this year. The 100% pre-leased space will serve as a warehouse, distribution, clearance and customer pickup center. NKF’s Rob Stillwell and Chris Malherbe represented the tenant.

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Structura Inc. broke ground on 121 Vision Park Medical Office Building at 121 Vision Park Blvd. in Shenandoah. The 58K SF, three-story Class-A medical office asset is near four hospitals: Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital, Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital, CHI St. Luke’s Health–The Woodlands Hospital and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. Gill Plastic Surgery and Dermatology will occupy the first floor. The J. Beard Real Estate Co.’s Sean Durkin represented the tenant, and the company also assisted Everson Developments in the purchase of the 3.5-acre tract. J. Beard is also handling the marketing, property management and leasing of the building. The building, designed by Ziegler Cooper Architects, is slated to be completed in Q2 2019. 

THIS AND THAT

Avison Young’s Houston office donated more than 80 backpacks filled with school supplies to the YMCA Operation Backpack initiative, which provides new supplies to Houston-area children in need. The Trotter Family YMCA collected the backpacks on Aug. 10 and will distribute them to students.