This Week's Houston Deal Sheet
Industrial is the gift that keeps giving in Houston.
Forward Air Solutions Inc. signed a 289K SF industrial lease at 18727 Kenswick Drive in Humble. The company will occupy the free-standing distribution space and plans to use it as a distribution center. The landlord, The Adkisson Group, will expand the asset from 132K SF to 289K SF.
Over the last 12 to 18 months, the north Houston submarket has recorded tremendous growth in industrial leasing activity, said Lee & Associates Robert McGee. He said recent build-to-suit projects such as Emser Tile, Grocers Supply and Conn's, coupled with good absorption of inventory, has spurred the new speculative development the submarket has experienced since 2015.
Lee & Associates' McGee and Chase Cribbs represented the landlord. Fischer Co.'s Mike Bauer represented the tenant.
EXECS
Alex Bouchard joined Henry S. Miller Brokerage-Houston as vice president. Previously, he spent six years at Marcus & Millichap as a member of the retail sales team and completed more than 60 sales transactions.
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Raymond A. Aronoff joined The Brock Group as president and CEO. Previously, he served as chief operating officer of BakerCorp, an industrial solutions provider with more than 65 locations in North America and Europe. He also worked for Boston Consulting Group and NASA's Johnson Space Center. The company also announced Mike McGinnis will step down as chairman and CEO but remain a member of the board of directors.
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Tim Delgado joined Global Healthcare Partners as president and CEO. With almost 20 years of experience in healthcare real estate, he will continue to focus on new healthcare and life science facility development and the acquisition and development of senior living projects. He previously served six years as president of Read King Medical Development.
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Benjamin Collins has been promoted with an expanded role to senior managing director – Western region. Collins joined Crescent in 2010 as a vice president and has been responsible for delivering 7,400 multifamily units. In his newly expanded role, Collins will oversee teams responsible for all investments in Tennessee, Texas, Arizona and Colorado.
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Cameron Alexander has accepted a role at Synchro Software as CEO and partner. He previously worked at Skanska USA Commercial Development as senior development manager. Synchro is a design/build firm with clients in Texas and Louisiana.
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Amanda App has joined the recently merged Houston office of PMRG and Madison Marquette. She will lease and market a portfolio of Class-A office properties in Houston on behalf of KBS and Stena Realty. App previously spent eight years at Transwestern and negotiated over 150 transactions totaling more than 2M SF.
SALES
NAI Partners’ Investment Fund II purchased Royal Montreal Plaza, a 40K SF retail center in Katy. The two-building center is 97% occupied by a mix of regional and local service-oriented tenants. This deal is the fund’s third acquisition in 60 days. NAI Partners’ Andrew Pappas and Adam Hawkins represented the firm. Green Bank’s Peyton Jones secured debt financing with equity funded by Fund II. Hunington Properties’ Todd Carlson represented the seller. NAI Partners’ Josh Welch will manage the property and Jason Gaines and Shaffer Braun will be responsible for leasing.
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GYS Development LLC purchased a 2.5-acre land parcel in Fulshear near Cross Creek Ranch development. The company will build Fulshear Bend Self-Storage, a Class-A, 105K SF facility, and will break ground in September. The three-story storage building will be constructed by GYS General Contracting, a subsidiary of GYS Development, and managed by GYS Property Management. Avison Young’s Tommy LeBlanc and Brownfield & Associates’ Bill Brownfield represented the buyer.
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2018 Beltway Property Ltd. purchased 2.76 acres of commercial land. The property is at the northwest corner of Space Center Boulevard and Crenshaw Road in Pasadena. Colliers International represented the buyer. Colliers International’s Marshall Clinkscales and Todd N. Edmonds represented the seller, Domec Family Limited Partnership Ltd.
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Bruce and Andrea Wiggs purchased a historic building in Montrose, which was the former photography studio of Evin J. Thayer. The duo will use the building in a live/work capacity and operate The Drywater Band, a special events and corporate entertainment company. The 6,824 SF building is at 405 Avondale St. in Houston. Judge Walter M. Brown built the asset in 1912 and it has been occupied by Evin Thayer Studios since 2001, which will relocate to the Sabine Street Studios at 1907 Sabine St. in Houston. Deal Co.’s Lauren Goodwin represented the landlord. Davis Commercial Real Estate’s Barrett Von Blon represented Evin Thayer.
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Hannover Estates Ltd. purchased 61.3 acres at 3102 West Cedar Bayou Lynchburg Road in Baytown. Finial Group represented the seller.
LEASES
Goodman Manufacturing Company L.P. inked a 411K SF lease at the Northwest Logistics Center, which was developed by Stream Realty Partners, in northwest Houston. The company will move in during Q4. Stream Realty Partners' Seth Koschak represented the tenant.
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NatureBest, a produce preparation and distribution company, signed a 62K SF lease at the Park 8Ninety business park at Beltway 8 and Highway 90 in Missouri City. The $10M capital investment will create about 115 jobs in Fort Bend County.
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WT Distribution signed a 63K SF office/warehouse space at 530 Portwall St. First Houston Properties' Jonathan McDaniel and Patrick McKiernan represented the tenant.
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IC PDC Logic LLC subleased about 32K SF at 27260 Oakridge Park Drive in Oak Ridge North. Moody Ramdin’s Al Gabosch represented the sublessee.
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Republic Irrigation PLLC signed a 16K SF lease at 12400 Taylor Road in Houston. Finial Group’s Jason Gibbons represented the tenant.
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LandWorks Inc. leased 14K SF at Westchase Commons at 3120 Hayes Road in Houston. Peloton Commercial Real Estate’s Matt Pruitt and Christian Canion represented the landlord, Lone Star Funds. Newmark Knight Frank’s Greg Marconi and Jack Warmington represented the tenant. LandWorks was recently acquired by the Canadian software firm Pandell.
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Abundant Living Real Estate, Urgensee and HomeAid Houston inked leases at Heights Clock Tower at 611 West 22nd St. in Houston. Stephanie McClimon represented Abundant Living Real Estate. Davis Commercial’s Ashley Casterlin represented the landlord.
DEVELOPMENT
Rejuvenation, a Williams-Sonoma home improvement brand, and Flower Child, an Arizona-based health-food concept by Fox Restaurant Concepts, have leased space as retailers at Uptown Park. Rejuvenation is set to open later this year and Flower Child on Sept. 12. Since April, owner EDENS has invested into redeveloping the retail center, which has included updating all building facades for a clean aesthetic, maximizing storefronts and brightening the exterior colors to modernize the customer experience. Also, the parking has been reconfigured to accommodate outdoor activity.
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Houston-based Contanda Terminals LLC, a provider of bulk liquid storage and logistics services in North America, plans to construct a new, large-capacity storage terminal on its property along the Houston Ship Channel to support its strategic expansion into the petrochemical and hydrocarbon storage markets. The new terminal, called the Contanda Houston Jacintoport Terminal, will provide up to 3 million barrels of additional petrochemical and hydrocarbon storage capacity. This expansion will be the third Houston-based bulk liquid storage facility for Contanda.
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As its first anniversary approaches in October, Memorial Green mixed-use retail center announced the 25K SF ground-floor retail is over 90% leased. Tenants include Jonathan’s The Rub, Vine Wine Room, Ceron Hair Studio, Dish Society and LAM Bespoke, Clean Juice and 18|8 Fine Men's Salons. Midway is also in talks with a gourmet coffee shop to secure the final first-level space. The two-building, mixed-use retail center is at 12525 Memorial Drive.
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ICO Commercial has been awarded the management and construction management of a new building, The Offices at Telfair, at 7215 New Territory in Sugar Land. The 15K SF asset, owned by AP Brothers Investment Group LLC, is 76% leased. ICO's Tawnya Dornak and Danna Sossen will be responsible for leasing, and Linda S. Larabee will be responsible for management.
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The master developer of Springwoods Village — a joint project including Patrinely Group, USAA Real Estate and CDC Houston — announced the opening of the initial roads within the master-planned community’s urban district, CityPlace. The completion of segments of Lake Plaza Drive and Spring Pine Forest Drive (between Springwoods Village Parkway and East Mossy Oaks) and City Plaza Drive will allow public access to the already-open The Market at CityPlace apartment community and soon-to-be delivered projects including Houston Marriott CityPlace, ABS headquarters and The CityPlace Plaza.
THIS AND THAT
Atlanta-based multifamily real estate investment firm Cortland Partners announced a brand refresh. From now on, the company will be recognized simply as Cortland and has released a new logo. The firm owns and manages more than 49,000 apartment homes including 19 communities in the Houston area, such as Attiva Pearland, The Lighthouse at Willowbrook, The Mason at Lakemont and The Venue Spring Plaza.
