This Week's Houston Deal Sheet

Clay Development & Construction Inc. broke ground on a 525K SF spec industrial property with enough land to nearly double in size in a future expansion. Dubbed Kennedy Greens Distribution Center I, it is being built on a 29-acre tract at JFK Boulevard and Lauder Road in North Houston.

Delivering in the fourth quarter, the cross-dock distribution facility will include 36-foot clear-height ceilings, 60-foot speed bays and four drive-in ramps. The project will have up to 300 employee parking spots and the option of 130 trailer parking spots.

The new building is part of the 145-acre Kennedy Greens South Business, which Clay acquired in 2013. The site is near Bush Intercontinental Airport, Beltway 8 and Highway 59.  

CBRE's Joseph Smith, Billy Gold and Faron Wiley and Clay's Charlie Christ will handle leasing of Kennedy Greens Distribution Center I.

With this project launched, Clay has 1.8M SF of spec industrial spaces under construction across four Houston developments, including a 622K SF spec distribution center in Katy. 

"Our current projects typically have 10+-acre interiors. In total, they could house 30 football fields," Clay Development & Construction President Robert Clay said in a release. "Such massive distribution centers are in demand for e-commerce retailers, logistics and oil field services companies. With road, rail and air access, the north submarket is particularly attractive for its proximity to supply chains as well as to end users." 

North Houston has been the hub of industrial activity, according to CBRE research. There is 5.2M SF of industrial product in the pipeline there, about 40% of the overall market. 

With positive absorption of 346K SF, the vacancy is 6.2% for the first quarter of 2019, the lowest observed vacancy rate in the submarket since 2012, per CBRE research. The citywide vacancy is 5.4%. 

EXECS

Travis Rodgers joined NAI Partners as executive vice president. In this newly created position, Rodgers will be responsible for the operations, revenue management and growth of the company; he will work closely with Managing Partner Jon Silberman. He comes to the firm from Whitestone REIT, where he was director of operations, responsible for the day-to-day real estate functions of 6M SF of retail, office and industrial product across Texas and Arizona. Rodgers will be located in the Houston office, but will also oversee Austin and San Antonio. 

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Houston chef Evan Parker will head the kitchen at Strato 550, the Mediterranean-inspired restaurant and conference center at 1415 Louisiana. The restaurant is expected to open this spring on the 43rd floor of the recently renovated office tower in Downtown Houston. Previously, Parker worked nearly eight years at catering company Mélange, rising through the ranks from sous chef to executive chef. 

SALES

An undisclosed buyer sold a Goodwill at 1025 Crabb River Road in Sugar Land. The property was constructed in 2015 and has a long-term triple-net lease. EDGE's Josh Jacobs and Burdette Huffman represented the seller, Sansbury Business GW Ltd. 

LEASES

Cooper Flooring signed a 12K SF industrial lease at 8020 Leghorn St., Houston. NAI Partners’ Andy Parrish and Lesley Rice represented the landlord. 

FINANCING

HFF secured financing for Ashford on the Bayou, a 127K SF office building in Houston. The five-story property sits on a heavily wooded 2.5-acre site at 1001 South Dairy Ashford south of Memorial Drive and Interstate 10. The property is 55% leased. HFF's Dan Miller and Johnny Kight represented the seller, RPD Catalyst LLC, and the buyer, Hartman Income REIT. HFF’s Susan Hill and Steve Heldenfels were responsible for debt placement. 

DEVELOPMENT

Local nonprofit housing developer Avenue celebrated the groundbreaking of Avenue Center, a mixed-use community resource center in the Near Northside. BBVA Compass Foundation provided a $1M gift to the organization, which will support Avenue's homebuyer education and counseling program. The Avenue Center is a three-story development that will provide about 30K SF of community programming space. 

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Dakota Enterprises broke ground on a 170-unit apartment complex at 5310 Milwee St. On-site amenities will include a gym, a clubhouse and a grill house. The 145K SF multifamily development is expected to deliver in the second half of 2020. Pre-leasing will start in Q2 2020. Dakota will serve as the developer and general contractor. Mucasey & Associates is the architect, and Iberia Bank provided the financing.

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Dakota Enterprises is also building a 246-unit project at 2308 Bingle Road in the Spring Branch submarket. On-site amenities will include a gym, a clubhouse and a grill house. The 213K SF multifamily project will break ground in the fall. Dakota will serve as the general contractor and Mucasey & Associates as the architect. 

THIS AND THAT

Anat Ronen completed a two-dimensional, interactive Italian village street scene in The Woodlands at Creekside Park Village Green. The mural is painted near Crust Pizza Co. and funded by The Woodlands Art Fund. Previously, The Howard Hughes Corp. commissioned Ronen to create two murals, using the ghosting technique, in Lakeland Village Center in Bridgeland.