This Week's Houston Deal Sheet
A new, 2,200-acre master-planned community is coming to the emerging Montgomery County and Conroe area.
Airia Development Co. is planning to build the community north of the Grand Parkway between Interstate 45 and Highway 59. The development will bring about 5,200 homes, priced between $280K and $500K, and plans include over 120 acres of mixed-use, commercial and retail properties. The build-out is expected to top $2.4B.
“The timing is ideal for the opening of Artavia,” Metrostudy Regional Director Lawrence Dean said in a release. “Its location will be even more convenient and accessible, with major infrastructure improvements on [Highway] 242 currently underway. The price points are in the sweet spot of the Houston market as Conroe/Montgomery County is one of the fastest growing areas in the nation, with a 29% growth rate year over year.”
Artavia's 13-acre community complex will overlook a 5-acre lake with paddleboats and a kayak launch area. The complex will include a contemporary-style clubhouse featuring a 24-hour fitness center, a café and gathering spaces. Other on-site amenities include a meditation rain garden, a splash pad, a nature exploration area, an event lawn, a playground and an interconnected forested trail system.
"One of the first things you will notice about Artavia is the intentional addition of color to the land’s natural beauty,” Airia President Travis Stone said in a release. “The artful design of nature in this heavily wooded area inspired us to create a community that would encourage residents to live colorfully by connecting with the outdoors, bonding with neighbors and forming lasting memories.”
Construction on model homes will begin early this year and is expected to wrap up by the summer. Builders will be announced soon.
EXECS
Summit Industrial restructured its leadership: Josh Johnson was promoted to chief operating officer, Chris Combs to vice president of engineering and Jordan Dombart to vice president of project management.
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Preston McAfee will step down as CEO of Rogers-O’Brien Construction, and Justin McAfee will step into the role of president and CEO of the company. Preston McAfee will assume the role of chairman.
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NAI Partners promoted three people to partner: Nick Peterson of the industrial group, James Tainter, head of the landlord services division, and Andrew Pappas, head of the investment fund.
SALES
SBTC Properties LLC purchased a shopping center at 13740 East Freeway in Houston. EDGE Realty's Burdette Huffman and Josh Jacobs represented the seller, I-10 Hayden Ltd. Citadel Venture Holdings' Nathan Wang represented the buyer, SBTC Properties LLC.
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Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Real Estate acquired Retreat at Shadow Creek Ranch, a 370-unit garden-style multifamily property in Pearland. The deal increased the firm's multifamily holdings to 24 U.S. properties.
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Glenmorangie LLC purchased a 26K SF building at 4303 South Drive in Houston. The flex office/warehouse is on 2.2 acres in Southbelt Industrial Park III. The buyer purchased the property as an investment and plans to lease the facility to an industrial user. Keller Williams Commercial's Coy Wheeler represented the seller, BL Fielder Investments LLC. Colliers International's Walter Menuet represented the buyer.
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Fogelman Properties acquired Artesian on Westheimer, a 660-unit multifamily community in Houston. Fogelman purchased the apartment community through a joint venture with New York-based DRA Advisors. Since 2003, the Fogelman-DRA partnership has acquired 27 multifamily communities totaling more than 8,800 apartment homes with an aggregate value of more than $870M.
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Intercargo Logistics LLC purchased a 24K SF industrial building at 11833 Trickey Road in Houston. NAI Partners' Travis Land and Michael Keegan represented the undisclosed seller.
LEASES
Energy Recovery Inc. signed a lease for its new Commercial Development Center at Energy Park West Business Park in Katy. The 4-acre site will serve as the central office for the company's oil and gas segment and will include a 25K SF facility to house advanced equipment and a 2-acre yard for field testing and product development. Avison Young's Bob Berry and Jacob Bravo represented the tenant. M Kidd Properties Inc.'s Mark Kidd Sr. and Mark Kidd Jr. represented the landlord, FS Clay LLC.
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Third Palm Capital selected NAI Partners for a 324K SF office leasing assignment in Houston's Energy Corridor. The property, Republic Square, is at 13501 Katy Freeway. The site includes an office tower and multiple sites for additional office, retail, hospitality and multifamily opportunities. NAI Partners' Randy Nerren, Jacob Aldridge and Zach Leger will be marketing and leasing Republic Square and assisting in the planning of the corporate campus facility.
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Cronus Technology renewed a 14K SF office lease at the Westchase III building at 3200 Wilcrest Drive in Houston. Moody Rambin's Kurt Kistler and Karen Wright represented the building owner, Gupta Investments. NAI Partners' Randy Wilheim and Liz Wescott-Brown represented the tenant.
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Mark III leased 11K SF of office space at 3600 South Gessner Drive in Houston. Moody Rambin's Terri Torregrossa represented the building owner, Plazer Properties Ltd. Savills Studley's Kyle Kelley represented the tenant.
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Oiltanking North America LLC signed a 24K SF office lease at the Murphy Building, a 14-story, Class-A tower at 9805 Katy Freeway. The company will relocate its U.S. headquarters to Memorial City in early summer. MetroNational’s Brad MacDougall and Warren Alexander represented the landlord in-house. Newmark Knight Frank's Andy Iversen, John Luck and Audrey Selber represented the tenant.
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Jason's Deli signed a ground lease for a 49K SF pad site in Brazos Town Center in Rosenberg. NewQuest Properties' Bob Conwell and Austen Baldridge represented the landlord. BDS Realty's Brad Sondock represented the tenant.
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HSB Solomon Associates signed a 10K SF office lease at Two Riverway. Stream Realty's Brad Fricks and Craig McKenna represented the landlord, Sidra Riverway LLC. Cushman & Wakefield's Andrew Spence represented the tenant.
FINANCING
TriArc Properties secured a five-year, floating-rate acquisition loan with three years of interest-only payments for Smart Living at Stuebner Airline, a 112-unit apartment community in North Houston. Veritex Community Bank's Rhonda Sands facilitated the loan. HFF's Cortney Cole represented the borrower. The property is on Stuebner Airline Road near the intersection of the Interstate 45 and West Little York Road.
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NorthMarq’s Warren Hitchcock secured acquisition financing for two multifamily properties, Harbor Walk and The Shore Apartments. The communities, consisting of 312 units, are in Clear Lake.
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DEVELOPMENT
Vigavi has completed three new manufacturing building at Hardy Industrial Center in north Houston. All three buildings are ready for sale or lease, built at 7,200 SF, 7,500 SF and 10K SF. The facilities have a brick facade, are 10-ton crane capable, have 26-foot clear heights and have two overhead doors.
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Molto Properties broke ground on a 137K SF distribution center in northwest Houston. 290 Northwest Business Center, at 21420 Northwest Freeway in Cypress, will house a spec Class-A, tilt-wall facility on 8.65 acres. The facility can accommodate one or two tenants and will feature a 32-foot clear height, ESFR sprinklers, 2,586 SF of spec office space, 121 parking spaces and a loading area. Lee & Associates' Reed Vestal, Taylor Schmidt and Robert McGee will lead leasing and selling efforts for the property. Molto Properties' Chad Parrish will lead the company's expansion efforts throughout Houston.
THIS AND THAT
NextSeed Space has launched a pop-up residency program at The HUB at Greenway Plaza. The platform allows for local restaurateurs, makers and retailers to grow concepts within move-in ready, short-term leases. The Waffle Bus, a Houston-based food truck, will be the first tenant opening this week and will run through March.
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The Conroe Economic Development Council received the Texas Economic Development Council's Excellence Recognition award for economic development in 2018. The award was announced at the TECD's Legislative Conference in Austin Feb. 21.
